Revival
by Mrs-diAngelo25
Summary: Kyra is back at camp after her stepfather's funeral and is desperately trying to find a cure for her mother. When she's just about ready to give up her search, a mysterious stranger approaches her and gives her an idea. Will she choose to trust this person? Read on if you want to find out! Pt. 3 of my series. Rated T because there are some very dark scenes later on in the story!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series my the fabulous Rick Riodan.

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I was knocking on the Hecate cabin's door for what felt like the billionth time. It had been two weeks since my mother had forgotten who my brother, John, and I were and I still had no idea what had caused it or how to fix it.

I had several spell and antidote recipe books in my arms. I had gone through all of them three times and had found nothing. The new hope that had filled me the night I was with Nico in Baltimore was running low. I was exhausted. I had so much on my mind. I was basically fighting depression what with Lucas having died two and a half weeks ago and then my mother forgetting me right after his funeral. It was almost too much to handle.

Finally, the door creaks open. Standing there was a familiar face. It was Jazzy. She was wearing a pair of tight, black capri pants and a dark purple tank top. Her black, curly hair was tied back into a pony-tail. When she saw my short, disheveled hair and my despairing expression, her eyes softened.

"Nothing?" she asks, softly.

I shake my head. "No. I looked under all of the memory spells and there was nothing. Nothing that described what she was like that day." I say, handing Jazzy the books.

"I think you've gone through our whole stash. Have you tried the Athena cabin? They have tons of books in there." she says.

"I haven't. Thank you, Jazzy, even though I didn't find anything. I'm beginning to feel like it's a hopeless cause." I sigh.

She lays a hand on my shoulder. "I sorta understand what you're going though right now. My stepmother died a few years back and my dad just passed this past year." she says.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea." I say, my eyes widening.

She shrugs. "It's okay. I still miss him. Sometimes, the realization just hits me. I'm an orphan and all I have is my family here. At least you have a brother back home." she says, putting the books on a shelf inside the cabin.

"Yea. I am glad I have John. He's always been there for me, being protective, even if he denied it." I say, smirking.

Jazzy chuckles. "I need to get going. I'll talk to you later, Kyra. And I'm serious. You need to see what the Athena cabin has. I'm sure Annabeth will help you." she says, walking onto the porch and down the steps.

I run my fingers through my already messy hair, making it even more untidy. "I will. I'll see you later, Jaz." I say, going in the opposite direction of her and towards the archery range.

* * *

After archery that day, I walked over to Annabeth. I wanted to ask her if they had anything in her cabin that might help me before she went to lunch. She noticed me coming over and detached herself from a conversation with a couple of her siblings.

"Hey." she says.

"Hey. I wanted to ask you something." I say.

"Okay. Ask away." she says, walking towards the path that lead to the mess hall.

I scurry after her. "I was wondering if you guys had any books under the topic of well, you know. My mom's condition." I say, quietly.

Only Will, Percy, Nico, Mo, Annabeth, Jazzy, and Chiron knew about what had happened to my mother and that was how I wanted it to stay. The gossip here at camp is unbelievable. It's like school without all the learning.

Annabeth sighs. "Kyra, as soon as we got back that night, I went through all of the books in my cabin four or five times. There was nothing. If there had been anything, I would have let you know. If I do come across anything, I'll find you. I promise." she says, looking at me with her startlingly gray eyes.

I nod. That hadn't been the answer I had been hoping for. I had prayed to all the gods I could think of that there would be _something_ here at camp. Maybe they were still trying to decide if they would answer my prayers and help me.

"I'll see you later, Ky. Hang in there." she says, with a encouraging smile, then sprints away towards her siblings.

I decide to skip lunch. I wasn't very hungry and I needed time to think. I tell Will and the others that I'll catch up with them later then head into the woods. I was determined to find that place with the large rock and small stream again. It was the place I needed to be right now. There I could just _be_. I could relax for a few minutes.

**A/N:**

**First chapter of Revival! Tell me what you think about it. I'll update again on Tuesday. Maybe if I'm feeling generous, I'll update sooner. You never know.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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Disclaimer: I do now own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

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After about an hour of searching, I found it. It was just as peaceful as it had been a few weeks ago when I had stumbled onto it. The sunlight scattered all over the ground, the quiet trickle of the stream.

I walk over to the rock and sit down, crossing my legs Indian style. I balance my elbows on my knees and let my head rest in my hands.

Everything started running through my head at a mile a minute. Lucas dying, his funeral, my mother's missing memories, the antidotes that had looked promising, but hadn't been.

It just didn't make since. I didn't understand what had happened to my mother and it seemed like nobody else did either. Every night I ran through all of the things I knew about the topic and I came up with nothing that would help.

I groan and lay down flat on my back, sunlight speckling my face. I was almost to the point of giving up. I couldn't fathom telling John what I hadn't discovered. I didn't think I could bear the disappointment on his face.

"Thinking about your situation, young demigod?" a voice that rolled like thunder says.

My eyes snap open and I have my bow in my hand and an arrow notched within five seconds. I look around to try and see who had said it. I had never heard the voice before. It was a very soothing voice that kinda made me want to take a nap.

"No need for the weapon, Kyra. I'm here to see if I can help you." the voice says.

I turn and see a figure in a deep blue, almost black, trench coat with, what appeared to be, moving purple swirls on it. He was also wearing a black fedora hat and was carrying a rosewood staff with poppies carved into it. He was wearing shiny black shoes and black and gray pinstriped pants. His head was down so I couldn't see his face. He looked like he had just walked out of the 1930s.

"Who-who are you?" I ask, not moving an inch. I was certainly not going to lower my bow.

The man chuckles. "For now, let's just say I'm a friend." he says.

"Well, what do you want?" I ask. I still had my bow out but I had lowered it a tad.

"Like I said before, I'm here to help you. I know about your mother's current, ah, condition. I think I might have a way to make her remember." he says.

"_What_?" I ask, suddenly _very_ interested in what this stranger had to say.

"I see I've gotten your attention now." he says, wryly.

"Yes. You do. Tell me what you know." I say. I was desperate to know what he knew but I wasn't going to show it.

"Your mother is under a sort of sleeping spell." he says, gliding closer to me.

I back up a little on the rock. You never know what a strange man in the woods could do. For all I know, he could be an absolute nutcase that had just broken out of the nearest asylum.

"Care to explain?" I ask, eyeing the man, suspiciously.

"It would be my pleasure. She's obviously not asleep, as you saw. It's a sort of trance. It erases certain memories. It can be helped, bur it might be impossible." he says.

My mouth is hanging open. I had never even thought about a sleeping trance. "Well, what do I have to do?" I ask.

"She has to have a kiss from a beloved one." he says.

"Beloved one-you mean my brother or I could just kiss her cheek and she'd remember?" I ask, not quite understanding.

"No. It has to be a kiss on the lips and by someone she remembers. It's the only way the trance can be broken." he says.

I look at the stranger, skeptically. "So, this is like, Snow White or Sleeping Beauty? My mother has to get a kiss from her true love and she'll be fine again?" I ask.

"Yes. See, that's the problem. Her beloved passed away two and a half weeks ago, if I'm not mistaken." he says.

New hope had been building inside me, but once he said that, it crumbled away as if it had never been there. I felt like sobbing my heart out now.

"But-there has to be _something_ I can do. Another way to break it?" I ask, not bothering to cover up the desperation in my voice now.

The man shakes his head. "Unless you can figure out how to bring the dead back, there is no curing her." and with that, the man walks away, leaving me shattered.

**A/N:**

**Hey guys! What did you think of this chapter? Who do you think the stranger is? Well, you ****_have_**** met him before in one of Rick's books... But I'm not going to say which one! That would spoil the fun of keeping you guessing till Saturday!**

**I hope everyone's day has been good so far. Mine has! I don't know what it is about Tuesdays but they're always better than Mondays! Maybe because it's not Monday? Hahaha! Anyways, review and let me know whatchya think so far!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

After my conversation with the stranger, I had left the rock. As I wandered around the woods, an idea started to form in my mind.

The stranger had said that if I knew how to bring back the dead, I could cure my mother. I didn't know how to, but I knew someone who did and has done it. Nico.

* * *

I found Nico and Percy in the sword arena. They were teaching some of the younger campers how to hold their sword and do combat with it. I think they're almost done so I sit down on one of the benches towards the back and watch.

As I watch Nico, I practically melt. He puts on such a brooding and dark show for the older campers but really, he's a total softie. He softly talks to the younger kids, explaining what to do, and he doesn't get frustrated when they mess up and he has to explain again.

My mind starts to wander. I think again about the strange man in the woods and what he told me. I wasn't entirely sure if I could trust him. What he said about my mother though, it made sense. Nothing else _makes_ sense. It _has_ to be a sleeping trance.

* * *

The time goes by and soon the class is over. The kids file out and Nico and Percy start cleaning up. I'm still contemplating how to ask Nico. I'm fairly sure he'll do anything for me, but bringing back the dead is risky business. I'm not sure if I can ask him to do this for me.

I'm still pondering this when he sees me. He comes over, a grin on his face, and kisses me, breaking me out of my troubling thoughts.

"Are you done cleaning up?" I ask, pausing away the raging battle going on in my head.

"Yea, all done. Let's go down to the dock." he says, giving me hand and pulling me up.

"Actually, can we go to your cabin?" I ask, quietly.

Nico gives me a confused look but nods his head. We tell Percy goodbye then walk out of the arena and towards the cabins.

* * *

Nico plops down on his black couch when we get to his cabin. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me down with him. I struggle out of his embrace and stand up. I was too jittery to sit down. I still wasn't sure if I should tell Nico about the man in the woods.

"Kyra? What wrong?" he asks, leaning forward. The cute little creases had appeared on his forehead. The ones he only got when he was worried or trying to make a difficult decision.

"Nothing. I just-" I say then stop, shaking my head and running my fingers though my short hair.

"What? What's wrong? Tell me. Maybe I can help." he says, standing up and placing his hands on my shoulders.

I lean into him, burying my face in his shirt. He wraps his arms around me and props his chin on top of my head. We stand there like that for a few minutes. I decide that I'll wait a couple of days before I tell Nico. If I go back to the rock tomorrow at lunch, maybe I can talk to the man again.

I pull out of the hug. Nico looks down at me, still slightly confused at my behavior.

"Ky-" he starts.

"Don't." I say, quietly, placing my hand over his mouth.

"Just kiss me." I say.

And he does. It was sweet and soft. His lips were like marshmallows and tasted of mint chap stick. It was my favorite flavor and I think he knew it. That's why it was the only kind he got.

The kiss soon turned into a full on make-out session. I was sprawled on the couch, Nico on top of me. He was lining kisses on my neck, working his way up to my mouth.

I pull his shirt off and he runs his fingers through my hair. This was exactly what I needed right now. Just some alone time with Nico. He stops and looks from my shirt to me. This was one of the many reasons I loved Nico. He always made sure it was okay with me if he was going to do something that regarded me.

I hesitate for a second then nod my head. This was the first time we had gone this far and I was jittery all over. But not from anxiety like earlier. This time it was the "butterflies in my stomach" jittery. He pulls my shirt off and throws it to the floor.

I place my hands on the back of his neck and he pulls me closer, pressing our bodies against each other. He kisses me, biting my bottom lip, softly.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and we freeze. We scramble off the couch and I grab my shirt and pull it back on, praying it wasn't on backwards. Nico hastily gets his on as he walks over to the door. I smooth down my hair as he opens the door.

Standing there is Annabeth. She has a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. I felt like smacking myself. I had completely forgotten about inspection today. She sees our red faces and heaving chests. She blushes then looks around Nico and into the room.

"Seven. I'll um, let you two get back to whatever you were doing." she says, walking briskly down the cabin's black obsidian steps.

Nico closes the door and looks back at me.

"That was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life." he says.

"Embarrassing? How about mortifying." I say.

He glides back over to me and scoops me up in his arms.

"Now, where were we?" he asks, grinning.

"Well, I think-" I start, but get cut off by the dinner horn.

I groan and smack my head into his chest.

Nico chuckles and sets me down on my feet.

"We'll continue this later." he says, opening the door for me.

I roll my eyes and walk out, Nico behind me. He closes the door then offers me his arm.

"Shall we?" he asks, a goofy grin on his face.

I laugh and loop my arm through his. "Lead the way!" I say, gesturing with my free hand.

**A/N:**

**Surprise! Chapter 3 done! I decided to update this a bit early because I'm not sure if I'll have time to do it tomorrow. My pottery instructor needs me to help her clean the studio tomorrow and she said that she'd need me there till 5. So, I'll probably be exhausted by the time I get home tomorrow afternoon but if you're lucky, I might just upload another chapter. You never knooow ;) ;)**

**Anyways, what did you guys think about this chapter? It was mostly fluff I guess but I sorta liked it. It was a heated fluff with a bit of comedy in it in my opinion.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngleo25**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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**WARNING!: VERY BRUTAL SCENES IN THIS CHAPTER!**

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Disclaimer: I do not the wonderfully amazing PJ or HoO series by Mr. Rick Riodan.

* * *

I had been sitting on the rock for quite some time. I had decided to go with my plan from yesterday and see if the man would show up again. If not, I'd tell Nico about the man tonight after the camp fire.

There's a rustling in the bushes. My fingers are hovering over the sun pendant, ready to touch it and make it transform into my bow and arrows.

The rustling gets louder and suddenly, the man from yesterday appears. He brushes the leaves from his coat then walks closer to me.

I jump off of the rock and face the strange man. He was wearing the same thing he had been wearing yesterday. The nearly black trench coat with the purple swirls on it, the black fedora hat, the shiny shoes, pinstriped pants, and the rosewood staff. He still wouldn't look up at me so I could see his face.

"Looking for me?" he asks. There's a joking tone to his voice. Almost as if he's amused.

"Yes actually. I have a few questions for you." I say.

"Ask away, Kyra." he says, sitting on the edge of the rock.

"First, what is your name?" I ask.

"Ah. I figured you'd ask that. Not sure if you can trust me, eh? Well, before I tell you, I want you to know that I don't intend to hurt anyone." he says.

I shift uncomfortably. What did he mean he doesn't "intend" to hurt anyone?

"Okay. I believe you. What's your name?" I ask.

"Hypnos." the man says, simply.

"You-you're the _god_ Hypnos?" I ask, completely baffled.

"Yes." he says, as if it should have been obvious.

"Oh. Well, the second question is, why do you want to help me?" I ask. This one had been nagging at me since yesterday.

Hypnos shrugs. "I like to pick a demigod every now and then and try to help them." he says.

"I see." I say, not quite believing him. There was a tone in his voice that told me there was more to it than just picking a random demigod.

"I sense there's something else you would like to discuss?" he says.

"Yes. You told me yesterday that in order to break my mother's trance, she had to be kissed by her beloved." I say.

"Yes. And her beloved is deceased." Hypnos says, fiddling with the top of his cane.

"Well, after our chat yesterday, I was thinking. My boyfriend, Nico di Angelo, he's the son of Hades. Couldn't he bring Lucas back for just a day? Long enough for Lucas to kiss my mother then he would go back to the Underworld?" I ask.

Hypnos ponders this for a moment before replying. "I suppose. You would have to ask him if he'd be willing to do it though. But yes, you could bring Lucas back for just a day. Then his soul would go back to the Underworld."

"And all Lucas has to do is kiss my mother on the lips? Then the trance is broken?" I ask, wanting to make sure there wasn't a catch.

"That's correct." he says, standing up.

"One more thing." I say.

Hypnos turns back toward me. "Yes?" he asks.

"Do you know who did this to her? Who made her forget?" I ask.

"Sadly, I do not. I would suspect that it's someone you know though. Someone who has a grudge against you or your family." he says, then turns and leaves through the bushes.

* * *

Shortly after I had left the rock, my phone had started to play "Walking Contradiction" by Green Day. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at caller ID, even though I already knew who it was. It was John. I was excited about telling him the news, but also nervous as to what he'd say about how the trance has to be broken.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey. Have you, um-found anything?" he asks. I can hear some voices in the background so I assume he's on break at work.

"I have. She's under a sleeping trance. I'm still not sure how to break it, but I'm searching everything for how it can be broken." I say.

Okay, so it wasn't _completely_ true. I did know _how_ to break it but I didn't know what he'd say to bringing Lucas back from the dead. I don't think he'd really agree on that part. I'm not sure if I do either.

I hear a relived sigh on the other end. "That's great! I finally got all your stuff over here and it's in the spare bedroom. If you haven't figured out how to break it by the end of camp, you can stay with me." he says.

"Okay. I-" I hear a twig snap a few feet away and freeze.

"John, I'm gonna have to call you back later." I say.

"Talk to you later, Ky." he says, hanging up.

I slip my phone back into my pocket and then touch the pendant around my neck. My bow is in my hand and I have an arrow trained on where the sound came from.

More twigs snap then a figure emerges from the shadows of the trees. It was a camper from Ares. I couldn't remember his name but I had seen him around every once in a while.

He's tall and muscular, like he lifts weights every morning. He has dark brown hair, almost black, and it's neatly trimmed and spiked with gel. He's tan and his eyes are an orangey yellow color, like a cat's.

"Well, hello Kyra. Fancy meeting you here." he says. His voice is deep and sounds almost threatening.

Daemon Richards. That was his name. He's always causing trouble between the Ares and Apollo cabins.

"Daemon. What are you doing out here?" I ask. My bow was still in my hands with an arrow notched, but I had lowered it.

"I might ask you the same." he says, moving closer towards me.

Daemon has always made me nervous. He seems-mentally unhinged sometimes. Like he could explode any second and kill anyone and everyone at camp just because he had misplaced his mace.

"That's none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going." I say, starting to walk around him.

He sticks an arm out, stopping me. "You're not going anywhere." he says.

I back up against a tree. "Wha-what do you mean?" I ask.

"I think you know perfectly well what I mean. Ever since you walked into this camp, I have wanted you. I have hungered for you." he growls, coming closer to me.

On instinct, I touch my pendant and have my bow out in a second. I have an arrow aimed at his forehead in two seconds. I knew from several talks with my mother, Lucas, and even John, about this kind of situation. Living in a big city, every woman has to be prepared for a jumping. I knew what would happen next. He would try to pin me down and force me to kiss him, bow to his every command. But I wasn't going to do it. He couldn't make me.

Daemon smirks at me. "Afraid of me, are you?" he asks.

"If you come any closer you'll end up with an arrow in your eye socket." I say, trying to keep the quaver out of my voice.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "You are afraid of me. I like that." he says.

The next thing I know, my bow is knocked out of my hand and five feet away from me. I'm pushed down and my head cracks on the root of a tree. I feel a heavy pressure on top of me. I open my eyes, feeling dazed. Daemon has his knees pinning down my arms. He has a sinister smile on his face.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." he says.

"HELP!" I scream.

He clamps a hand over my mouth. "Uh-uh-uh." he tisks.

Then, he slaps me across the cheek. Hard. I cry out, only to have his grimy hand cover my mouth again. My arms are starting to go numb under the weight of his heavy body. I struggle to get out from under him but it was impossible. He was at least double my weight.

He leans down to where he's inches from my face, his hot breath burning my lips.

"Kiss me." he hisses through his teeth.

I shake my head furiously.

"Fine. Do it the hard way." he says.

He punches me in the stomach then grips my face tightly and forces me to meet his lips. They're hard and chapped. The force of them on mine feels wrong. I wanted to throw up.

The next thing that happens I don't ever want to remember but I don't think I can erase it from my memory. It's too horrible. He forces me to take off my clothes. He looks at me, enjoying the sight. Then he rapes me. I tried screaming, but anytime I did he slapped me.

Eventually, he pulls back and grins at me. He gropes me and I shriek only to have his hand cover my mouth again.

"You like this. I know you do." he breathes on my neck.

I shake my head again, afraid to speak.

Daemon snarls then gets off of me. I start to get up, but he kicks me back down. I fall hard on my elbows. He kicks my side and I curl up in a ball. He kicks again and again.

When it finally stops, I squint open my eyes. I see him staring down at me, a furious expression on his face.

"Get up." he barks.

I stand up, shakily, and lean against a tree, trying to catch my breath. He comes closer to me and I flinch. I hear a '_smack_' and a split second later there's an excruciating pain in my right eye. I reel back, realizing he had socked me. I place my hand over my eye.

I look up and see Daemon is gone. I feel like curling up and crying right here by this tree. But I couldn't. I needed to get back. Dinner was soon and I needed to clean up a bit. If I didn't, there's no telling what my siblings would ask me.

I pull my clothes on, quickly. It was painful to just move my arms. I start to sigh then stop because it hurts too much. I hoped Daemon hadn't broken any of my ribs during his kicking spree. With one hand still over my right eye, I start walking in the direction of the cabins.

**A/N:**

**I bet you guys despise me for doing that to Kyra. But I promise, he will be punished for his actions! The next chapter is pretty good but you'll have to wait till Tuesday! Mwahahahaha!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

Thankfully, no one had been around the cabins. I stumbled into the Apollo cabin. Inside, it was vacant. Will and the others must still be training.

I limp to the bathroom and close the door behind me. I look at myself in the mirror and cringe. My eye had already started to swell, my hair was a rat's nest, my cheeks were red from all the times he had slapped me, my lip was split and bleeding, and I had dirt and scratches all over my body.

I take two washcloths out of a drawer, then I pause and put them back. It would just be easier to take a shower. I strip down then hop into the shower. I turn it on and let the hot water cascade down my body.

Soon, I'm squeaky clean and free of all the blood and dirt. My hair is washed and tangle free. The scratches were still visible and I was sure the cut on my lip was still there. But some ambrosia would fix all that.

I walk out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around me and my dirty clothes in my hands. I toss them into my trunk and get out my faded, cut-off short-shorts and a lacy, white button up. I go back into the bathroom and change. I feel better being clean but I still felt dirty after what Daemon had done.

I look in the mirror and see that the swelling had gone down on my eye. It had hints of purple and blue though, indicating a bruise. I inspect my stomach next. There was a nasty looking bruise there that was about the size of a soccer ball.

I borrow concealer from Danielle's bag and gently rub it around the purple beginnings of my black eye and on my red cheeks. I don't feel like putting on eye liner or mascara so I just leave the make-up at that. My hair had already dried so I straightened it while I was still in the bathroom.

When I'm done, I exit the bathroom and go over to my trunk again. I take out the backpack Nico had given me a few weeks ago. I reach inside and search for the Ziploc with ambrosia in it. I find it and rip it open. I take half a square and nibble at it.

Hopefully, this would take some of the aches away. It would definitely close up the scratches and my lip. If I was lucky, it would take the bruising away. But, since I'm not usually lucky, I wasn't counting on it.

I hear the dinner horn and I sigh. I really didn't want to go, but I was starving. I had skipped lunch again today to meet Hypnos. I put the Ziploc back into my pack then toss the whole thing into the trunk. I lower the lid then slip on my shoes, open the door and walk out.

* * *

The ambrosia had worked wonders! When I had walked over to the mess hall, I had caught up with my siblings. They had apparently been swimming in the Sound this afternoon. I hoped no one had noticed I was missing, but no such luck.

"Where were you all afternoon?" Keegan asks.

"I, uh, was wandering the woods." I say, a small tremor in my voice that I hoped he hadn't noticed.

Keegan nods as we all enter the mess hall. I felt a bit of relief wash over me. At least no one else had asked me. You could tell Keegan just about anything and he'd believe you. That could be a really good thing or a really bad thing. Just depended on the situation.

Dinner was pretty much the same as it usually is. When I had tossed a couple of strawberries into the brazier, I had asked Apollo to help me through this. I hoped he would.

We were walking to the camp fire. I feel someone grip my hand and I stiffen up. Only for a second though because I soon recognize the cool touch and calloused, but somehow soft, hand. It was Nico. I look over and smile at him. He kisses my cheek.

Everyone was obviously in a joyful mood tonight. The fire was blazing twenty feet high and it was a yellow so bright it was hard to look at. Nico and I grabbed some marshmallows on sticks and went to roast them.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around. Keegan was standing there with his guitar slung behind him.

"You want to sing tonight?" he asks.

I think for a minute then shake my head. "Not tonight. I'll sing tomorrow if that's alright." I say. I wasn't in the mood to give Daemon another show today.

"Okay." Keegan says, then walks back over to where Scarlett was.

Once Nico and I were done roasting our marshmallows, we went and sat by Percy, Annabeth, Mo, Piper, Jason, Leo, and Rachel. I didn't want a s'mores tonight so I just let the toasted, sugary goodness of the white puff melt in my mouth.

Sometime when Keegan and Scarlett were belting out the lyrics to "Set Fire to Rain", Nico leaned over and whispered to me.

"You want to spend the night in the Hades cabin and pick up where we left off yesterday?" he asks, his lips brushing against my cheek.

I looked over at him with a grin and nod my head. He smiles his boyish grin that made me melt then turns his attention back to the sing-along. My gaze drifts over to where the Ares campers were sitting. What I saw terrified me. Daemon was staring at me, a pleased grin on his face. He could obviously see that I was mortified of him now.

I quickly grab at Nico's hand and turn my attention back to the song. They had just started one of the traditional camp songs. I couldn't remember it's name but I didn't care. I just wanted it to be over soon.

* * *

I had waited until everyone in the Apollo cabin was sound asleep before I took my backpack out of my trunk, put some clothes in there for tomorrow, and slipped on my TOMS.

I quietly snuck over to the Hades cabin and crept up the steps. I knock on the door and a few seconds later Nico was there. I walk inside and toss my pack onto the couch. I kick off my shoes by the door and then lay down on the bed. Nico flips the main switch for the lights and then there was just a warm glow from the lamp by the bed.

He glides over and lays down on the bed, facing me. His arms encircle my waist and he pulls me closer. We were soon back to where we had been interrupted yesterday.

He had just pulled off my shirt when he froze. I open my eyes to see why he had stopped. He was staring down at my abdomen where there was the giant, purple bruise. He looks from my face to my stomach, stunned.

"What-how-when?" he asks, shocked.

I sigh and sit up. I had been hoping not to tell him about Hypnos until tomorrow but, obviously, I was going to have to tell him now. I had hoped I would _never_ have to tell him about Daemon, but how else was I going to explain the bruise?

I start from yesterday when I had been in the woods at my peaceful place on the rock and how Hypnos had approached me. Then I tell him about this afternoon and that I had figured out how to break my mother's trance. I didn't tell him _how_ to though. Lastly, and most reluctantly, I tell him about Daemon and what he had done to me on my way back earlier.

When I was finished, he sat in stunned silence. There went our nice night. After a few minutes, he looks up at me. There was a burning fury in his dark eyes. He gets off the bed and stomps over to his trunk. He yanks out a black v-neck tee shirt and jerks it over his head. Then he pulls on some jeans over his boxers. I quickly get off of the bed and go over to him. I place a hand on his arm and he looks over at me.

"What are you doing?" I ask, staring into his dark eyes.

"Do you seriously think I'm going to just sit here and let that bastard get away with what he did to you?" he asks, slipping his shoes on.

He starts to walk over to the door but I take a handful of his shirt and pull. It was not easy keeping my grip on the fabric, but I managed to stop him.

"Nico, it's one o'clock in the morning. Can you imaging how much trouble you'd get into if you marched over there right now and beat him up? Not to mention that we have _obviously_ been in here, past curfew. We'd both get in serious trouble. Just think about it until tomorrow. _Please_." I plead.

He gives a defeated sigh and kicks off his shoes. "Fine. I'll think about it until tomorrow. But he's still not getting away with it." he grumbles, going back over to the trunk.

He takes his shirt and jeans off again then throws them into the trunk. He comes back over and tackles me, playfully, to the bed.

"Now, we can get back to where we were before." he says.

I grin as he places kisses along my collar bone. It doesn't take a genius to guess what happened after that.

**A/N:**

**Things got a ****_bit_**** romance novel there. If there are any guys reading this, I apologize. Romance stuff like this usually makes me want to gag but this just felt like it belonged in this chapter. What do you think Nico's going to do to Daemon? Hmmmmmm. You'll just have to wait till Saturday!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

A coldness woke me up. I felt, blindly, to where Nico had been laying beside me. He wasn't there. My eyes snap open and dread started to fill me. I look around the cabin but I don't see him. The bathroom door is open and it's dark inside. I instantly know where he is.

I scramble out of the bed and over to the couch where my pack is. I rip the flap open and quickly pull out my clothes. I don't even bother going to the bathroom to change. I just do it right there, throwing my pajamas to the floor. I run my fingers through my hair while slipping my shoes on. I throw open the door and go out.

My eyes narrow on a small circle of campers by the fountain. I close the door behind me then sprint down the steps and toward the fountain.

As I get closer, I hear that some of the campers are chanting what sounds suspiciously like, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" I get to the circle and elbow my way through.

Just as I had suspected, there was Nico and Daemon rolling around on the grass. Nico had obviously gotten a few punches through to Daemon's face.

"Stop it!" I shout, trying to get their attention.

They either hadn't heard me or chose to ignore me. Whichever, I didn't know. The point was, they were still fighting. I hear a shout from behind me. I turn around to see Percy and Jason coming over. I elbow my way out to meet them.

"Percy! Jason!" I call, slightly panicked, running towards them.

Percy grips my arms. "Kyra. What's going on?" he asks, looking into my panic-stricken face.

I quickly explain, leaving out _why_ Nico was pummeling Daemon. If I told them _why_, they would probably join Nico. They were both like older brothers to me.

A few seconds later, the three of us are going back to the crowd. Percy and Jason get in there and pull Nico off of Daemon, with some difficulty I might add.

Daemon was on the ground. Both of his eyes were blackened. His bottom lip was swollen and his nose was bleeding. I feel a bit of pride for Nico and mentally nod my head in approval at his work on Daemon. Serves the damn motherfucker right for what he did to me.

I snap out of my reverie and look back to the scene. Nico was still struggling to get loose of Percy and Jason's grip, but it wasn't working quite so well. Nico could take on one of them just fine, but both of them together, not so much. I hurry over and step in front of Nico. He freezes when he sees me and looks down quickly before I can clearly see his face.

This was going to be tricky. It wasn't like we could say Nico just felt like beating someone up when he had woken up this morning and Daemon had happened to be the first person he saw. That was totally unreasonable. He had obviously had a reason for it by the way he had been fighting.

"Nico. Look at me." I say, putting my hand under his chin and forcing him to look up.

Daemon hadn't gone down without a fight, that's for sure. Nico's left eye was swollen and there was some blood leaking from his mouth and down his chin.

"Ky, I'm sorry. I just couldn't let him get away with it." he says, looking at me with sad puppy-like eyes.

"Shhh!" I hiss, covering his mouth with my hand. But it was too late. Percy and Jason had already heard what Nico had said.

"What did Daemon do?" Percy asks, curiously, looking from me to Nico.

"Nothing!" I say, not wanting another fight to break out.

"Kyra, what happened?" Jason asks, looking at me with his bright, blue eyes.

"You want to know what that piece of trash did?" Nico asks, jutting his chin towards Daemon, who was still trying to recover on the ground.

Nico reaches forward and pulls my shirt up just enough to reveal my stomach and the nasty bruise. It had turned a dark purple over the night. I quickly pull it back down but they had already seen, along with all the other campers still gathered around us.

"_He_ did that?" Percy asks, pointing to Daemon and releasing his grip on Nico's arm.

I nod my head, mournfully. I really hadn't wanted this to start so early in the morning. I would have much rather preferred this afternoon.

Jason lets go of Nico as well, stony faced and glaring at Daemon. He had gotten on his feet and was glowering at Nico, wiping the blood off of his face.

"He didn't just do that. He also raped her yesterday." Nico says.

At this, Percy looses his temper and launches himself on top of Daemon, knocking him down again. He pins him to the ground and calls up some water from the fountain. He drenches Daemon, leaving him sputtering and gasping for air. Jason walks toward them, glowering down at Daemon. He flicks his hand up and I feel my hair stand up a little.

There's a sharp '_crack_' and a bright flash. After my sudden blindness ceases, I look to see Daemon laying on the ground, steaming. He was moaning and his eyes were closed. Jason helps Percy up and they grin at each other.

"Nicely done, Percy." Jason says.

"You too. I liked the dramatic hand flip by the way." Percy says, patting Jason on the back.

Before I can stop him, Nico walks over and kicks Daemon, hard, in the stomach. He doubles up, clutching his abdomen and gasping.

"If you _ever_ think about doing that to Kyra again, your soul will be facing the worst punishment I can come up with in the Underworld." he spits, then turns his back on him and walks back toward me.

I grab his hand and start dragging him toward the Hades cabin.

"Where are we going?" Nico asks.

"To clean you up." I say.

"Ky, I'm fine. Seriously." he says as we climb the steps.

"No, you're not. You go to the bathroom and get a damp washcloth." I say, pointing to the bathroom door.

He sighs and rolls his eyes, but he goes to the bathroom anyway. I go over to the couch. I reach into my pack and pull out the Ziploc of ambrosia. I take out half a square then close the bag.

Nico comes back with the washcloth. I point to the couch and he sits down. He hands me the washcloth and I give him the ambrosia. I kneel down on my knees and start dabbing at the blood on his face.

"Were you trying to be my night in shining armor?" I ask.

"What?" he asks, confused.

"Beating up Daemon for me, even though you're probably in huge trouble now." I say.

"Ky, I told you last night I wasn't going to let him get away with it. And _I_ won't be the one in trouble. He'll probably be banned from camp with what he did to you. Or, better yet, be sent to Camp Jupiter. Maybe they can straighten him out over there." he says, cringing a little as I dab a bruised spot on his mouth.

I chuckle. "Yea. Let's suggest that to Chiron. Knowing him, he already knows about the fight." I say.

"You said you knew how to break you mom's trance last night. How?" he asks, changing the subject.

Last night I had told him I knew how to break it. I hadn't told him _how_ it had to be broken. At that instant, I decide I can't ask him to do this for me. John would be upset, but he would understand. I just can't let Nico put himself in that kind of danger.

I sigh. "She has to be kissed by her beloved. In this case, Lucas." I say.

"But that's-" he stops, realization dawning on his face.

"Yes." I say, looking down.

"No. I won't let you do it. I'm not going to let you not have a mother when you can. I'll go and get him." he says, cupping his hand under my chin and making me look into his eyes.

"No!" I exclaim, jumping up.

"You are _not_ doing that. I can't ask you to do that. It's too dangerous Nico. It will be fine. I'm not sure what I'm going to tell John, but you're not doing this." I say.

"Ky, you're miserable. Your eyes get more dim every day. They don't have their usual sparkle . I don't want you to be unhappy. I want you to have a mother. I can get her back for you." he says, taking my hands.

I shake my head. "No. I-I can't have you risk your life for me. I'll live. It will hurt for a long time, but it will be okay. Please, don't do this." I plead.

He gives me a long, hard look. He was studying my face, looking into my eyes. Finally, he sighs.

"Fine. If this is what you want, fine." he says, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"Thank you. I've already lost her and Lucas. I can't loose you too if you can't get Lucas." I say, raising my hand again and dabbing at the blood on his face.

We're quiet for a while. He nibbles at the ambrosia as I scrub the rest of the blood off of his face.

"I don't have a mother. It's terrible not having one." he says, more to himself than to me.

I lower my hand, looking at him, shocked. He had never talked about his mother. From what Annabeth had told me, he didn't even remember her.

"Nico." I breathe.

I climb onto his lap and wrap my arms around him. He lays his head on my shoulder and holds me tightly. I feel him shaking slightly and I feel a bit of wetness on my shoulder. I don't say anything though. I rub his back and we sit there.

"It sucks, Ky. I don't want you to have to endure that." he mumbles into my shoulder.

I run my fingers through his dark hair. "I can't loose you. If something goes wrong while you're down there, I will have lost you and my mother. I just-no. I can't handle it." I say, softly.

He sighs. It sounded like he was giving up on trying. He sounded tired.

"We need to go talk to Chiron. Otherwise, there will be a knock on your door in a few minutes." I say.

"I suppose you're right." he sighs, pulling out of the embrace.

I slide off of his lap and to my feet. He stands up and stretches then walks over and slips on his shoes. I stuff my pajamas into my backpack then sling it over my shoulder.

I go over to the open door and join Nico on the porch, closing the door behind me.

**A/N:**

**I decided to update a bit early, but don't worry! I'll still post another chapter on Saturday! A bit of an emotional ending to this chapter, but I kinda liked it. "'Serves the damn motherfucker right for what he did to me.'" I don't know why, but that's my favorite sentence throughout the whole chapter! For some reason, it just makes me laugh...**

**Was that enough payback for what Daemon did to Kyra or does he deserve more? I honestly don't think there's enough payback in the world for something like that.**

**Just some randomness, if you like Green Day, what is your favorite song that they've written? Mine is Jesus of Suburbia. No doubt about it. I know the lyrics by heart and I'm proud to say so! I've listened to and sung that song countless times. In my room, in the car, doing homework or chores. I'm pretty sure my mom is sick of it by now... Lol!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

Before we walked to the Big House, I went inside the Apollo cabin and dropped off my pack. I walk back out and towards Nico.

As we near the Big House, I study it. It looked the same as it always is. Four stories plus the attic, painted sky blue, the shutters white, a giant wraparound porch with tons of rocking chairs and a few card tables.

When we get within a few feet of the steps, I see Chiron and Mr. D playing pinochle. Then I see two other figures. It was Percy and Jason. They were obviously explaining the events of this morning to Chiron.

Nico and I walk up the steps and over to the group. I start to get a little nervous. I was probably going to have to recount the other day in the woods. What Daemon had done.

I stop short and Nico looks over at me. He obviously sees the fear on my face. He gives my hand an encouraging squeeze and then pulls me forward.

Percy and Jason stop their elaborate recounting of this morning when they see us come over. Chiron twists around in his wheelchair. His face softens and his eyes have a sympathetic glint. I sit down in a rocking chair and stare at my feet.

"Kyra, I know this must be hard with all that's going on with you right now. But, could you tell me what happened the other day in the woods?" Chiron asks, gently.

"Yes." I whisper. I didn't want to _think_ about that day much less _tell_ anybody about it.

I take a deep breath and plunge into the story. I say that I had gone to the rock to think instead of saying it had actually been to meet Hypnos. There was no point in telling them that if I wasn't going to go thorough with the plan of getting Lucas. I tell them about John calling me as I had walked back then having to abruptly end the call because I had heard something. Then I tell them about Daemon appearing. What he had said and then what he had done to me. I choked on getting the words out of my mouth when it came to that part.

When I was done, everything was silent. I had been looking down during the story. I don't know how I held it together throughout the whole thing.

I look up now. Everyone was staring at me in stunned silence. Even Mr. D. Suddenly, there's the sound of footsteps on the stairs. We all turn to see who was there. Will and Mo were standing at the top of the stairs, looking livid. They had obviously heard the news.

They see me and rush over. Mo engulfs me in giant hug. I eventually have to tell him to let go because I couldn't breath. He releases me, blushing a little.

"Where is he?" Will says, through his teeth.

I stand up and place my hand on his shoulder. "Will, I'm pretty sure Daemon has had enough beatings today." I say.

Will shakes his head. "There are not enough beatings in the world for him. What he did to you is inexcusable." he says.

"Now that I've heard what has happened, we can discuss what to do with him." Chiron speaks up.

"Can we kill him? Nico can oversee his punishment." Mo says, hopefully.

"We do not kill, Mo. We can, however, send him somewhere else." Chiron says, although he looked like he would have liked to do what Mo suggested.

"Camp Jupiter?" I ask.

Chiron nods. "I'll contact Reyna and make sure she understands what he is capable of. After a few months, he might be straightened out." he says.

"How soon can he be sent there?" Nico asks.

"As soon as possible. I'll Iris Message Reyna now." Chiron says, rolling away from the card table and into the Big House.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Ten o'clock." Mo says, checking his phone.

"We should probably get to training. I'm determined to scale the rock wall today." I say, getting up.

Nico stands up as well and we walk down the steps. The others follow, going in different directions towards their activities. That hadn't been quite as bad as I had thought it would be.

**A/N:**

**Kind of a boring chapter in my opinion. It's about to get better, I promise! What do you guys think so far?**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

After lunch that day, I went through with my plan of finally defeating the rock wall.

"Fuck!" I say, under my breath.

The walls were shaking, trying to fling me off. The lava was red hot and pouring down from the top. I had just had the pleasure of touching a little bit of the scalding stuff.

I jerk my hand back from the lava. I shake it and it cools down a little. I keep on climbing. I was almost to the top. Just a few more feet and I'd be there.

"Hey there, Kyra." someone says beside me.

I nearly loose my grip and fall fifty feet to the ground. I look over and see Jazzy next to me. Strands of her curly, black hair were peeking out from under the helmet.

"Jaz! You nearly scared the living daylights out of me!" I scold, starting to climb again.

"Sorry. Did Annabeth have anything?" she asks.

"No. She said she's gone through the books countless times and still hasn't found anything." I say.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any clue as to what it could be?" she asks.

"Nope." I lie.

Jazzy is quiet after this. We scale the rest of the wall and get to the top. I look around. I had never seen camp from this high up. It was beautiful. If I could, I'd spend all my time up here.

As I look around, I spot a familiar dark figure going towards the woods. My heart nearly stops. I had told him to drop it. I had told him that it would be okay if I didn't get my mother back. I told him that I couldn't risk loosing him. I knew he hadn't agreed with me, but I had let it go, convincing myself that he would stay here and not try to bring Lucas back. I should have known better. This was _Nico_ I was talking about. He never dropped anything.

"Jaz, I need to go. I'll talk to you later." I say, scrambling to the edge of the wall and climbing down quickly.

I didn't wait long enough to hear what Jazzy had said to me. I was already half-way down by the time she even noticed I was gone.

I unclip my helmet and practically throw it on the shelf with the others. I bolt across the plaza to get to the cabins. I reach to the Apollo cabin within a minute.

I burst inside and grab my pack out of my trunk. I quickly look inside and make sure I have all the supplies I'll need. I toss in my cell phone and twenty bucks, for good measure, then I rush out as quickly as I had come in.

* * *

Three minutes later, I was where I had seen Nico. There was no trace of him now, but I assume that he went straight into the woods. He'd want to get a little distance between him and prying eyes before he shadow traveled. It wasn't like he had permission to go anywhere at the moment.

I hear the faint crackle of leaves ahead of me and I start to walk in that direction. I spot him, about to walk into a shadow. I dart towards him. Just as he's putting his foot into the shadow I slam into the side of him. We tumble to the ground, both moaning and gasping for air.

"Well, hello to you too." Nico says, looking at me and trying to regain his breath.

"What the hell Nico?! You said you weren't going to go get Lucas!" I say, standing up.

"And what makes you think I am?" he questions, brushing off his jeans.

I point to his pack that was on the ground, covered in leaves and dirt.

"Ah. Well, then you'd be right. I _am_ going to get Lucas." he says, picking up the backpack.

"I told you it was okay. I told you that you didn't need to do this. I told you _not_ to do this." I say, pacing.

He sighs and leans against a tree. "Ky, do you know what's it's like to watch someone falling into a depression so deep that no one can save them? Watching a person breaking and not being able to glue them back together?" he asks.

His question caught me off guard and I stopped pacing. "No. Why?" I ask.

"Because when I see you, that's what I see. Everyday it's like that. It just gets worse and worse and eventually, you won't be with me anymore. I can fix that." he says, coming towards me and taking my hands.

"Okay." I say, quietly.

"What?" Nico says.

"I said okay. But, I'm coming with you. I don't care what you say about the dangers of it. I'm going." I say.

He squeezes my hands in his and kisses my forehead. "Then let's go." he says.

I swing my backpack over my shoulder and he does the same. He lets go of one of my hands and pulls me forward, towards the shadow. In a second, I'm surrounded by extreme coldness and absolute darkness.

**A/N:**

**A trip to the Underworld? Hmmmmm. I wonder what they'll find there? I'm going to upload another chapter just because you guys are so awesome and deserve it!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

When I open my eyes, I see that we're in a deserted part of Central Park. I hear the honks of taxi cabs and the sirens of police cars and ambulances in the distance.

We're standing under the shadow of an extremely tall oak tree. There are a few boulders here and there and some flower gardens scattered around us. Nothing special about the park jumped out at me.

"I thought we were going to the Underworld?" I ask, confused.

"We are. We just can't shadow travel down there. We have to take the entrance here." Nico says.

I look around, convinced that he's lost it. There is no entrance that has a giant, flashy sign that says, "UNDERWOLRD. THIS WAY!" Nico grins and chuckles slightly at my confused expression.

"This way." he says, leading me towards one of the boulders.

"Um, what exactly am I looking at?" I ask.

"If you sing or play music to this boulder, it cracks open and there's a tunnel that leads to the Underworld." Nico says.

"Oh." I say.

"Well? What are you going to sing?" he asks.

I stare at him. Did he _seriously_ expect me to _sing_, out in the open of _Central Park_? I guess he did since he wasn't uttering any notes.

I sigh and ask, "What do you want to hear?"

He grins at me and says, "Anything you want to sing. I just love the sound of your voice."

I clear my throat then start to sing "8th Avenue Serenade" by Green Day. It's one of my favorite songs to listen to.

_"'Say hello from your window_  
_Say goodbye from you car_  
_Say goodnight from your pillow_  
_Say so long from the stars._

_Take a walk out of my life_  
_Sing to me a lullaby_  
_Cradle songs for a midlife_  
_Don't forget to pass me by._

_As my imagination runs away_  
_On this 8th Avenue Serenade_  
_Meet me at the bathroom stall_  
_Meet me at the whispering wall_  
_Before all the flames burn out._

_As my imagination runs away_  
_On this 8th Avenue Serenade_  
_Meet me at the bathroom stall_  
_Meet me at the whispering wall_  
_Before all the flames burn out.'_"

As soon as I finished the last verse, there was a faint rumbling sound and the ground started to shake a little. A second later, a large crack, big enough to squeeze past, appeared through the center of the boulder we were standing in front of.

Nico grabs my hand and goes though first, dragging me behind him and into the dank, darkness of the tunnel.

**A/N:**

**And there you go! What did you guys think about this chapter? I know, I know. I was ****_really_**** short. Have you guys ever heard "8th Avenue Serenade"? I'm in love with that song! Jesus of Suburbia is still my favorite of all time but I really like this one too.**

**I'll be back on Saturday with a new chapter!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

As soon as my feet hit the steps, the boulder closes up. That seemed strange that it could just magically close up, but I wasn't that surprised. By now, I was used to weird stuff like that.

Nico snapped his fingers and torches that were mounted on the walls flickered to life. The flame wasn't your usual flame though. It was green like the ones outside of the Hades cabin.

Nico looks back at me with a nervous expression. He still probably didn't want me to go into the Underworld. But I didn't care. If it meant possibly saving his life or getting him out of trouble with Hades himself, I was all for it. The only reason he was doing this was because of me.

Turns out I was right about him not wanting me to come. "Are you _sure_ you want to come?" he asks, before we start descending down the steps.

"Yes. I told you I wasn't going to let you go alone." I say, mentally rolling my eyes at him.

He sighs and starts walking down. I would have walked next to him but the tunnel was only wide enough to go single-file. The torches cast strange shadows around the tunnel walls. It gave my skin a weird greenish shade that I didn't like very much.

After a while, Nico spoke up, breaking the silence. "I like that song."

"What?" I ask, not knowing what in the world he was talking about.

"The song you sang to open the entrance." he says.

"Oh. I like it too." I say.

"Actually, you could probably sing the worst song on the planet and it would sound good to me." he says. I can just picture him smiling that cute, small smile of his.

"How come you never sing to me?" I ask.

The question seemed to catch him off guard. "I don't know. I just never thought about doing it." he says.

"You should. I think you have a lovely talking voice so your singing voice shouldn't be all that bad." I say.

This conversation was absolutely ridiculous. Since when do Nico and I talk about singing and talking voices?

He chuckles. "Well, maybe I'll sing to you sometime." he says, reaching his hand behind him. I grab a hold of it and lace my fingers with his.

* * *

I don't know how long we've been walking, but it's been quite a while. I could tell because my feet were starting to hurt and my legs were aching slightly. Usually it takes a hell of a lot of walking or running to make them do that.

I start to hear what sounds like whispering. There are a few shrieks in the distance and the roar of fire farther off. The tunnel starts to widen and soon I'm able to walk next to Nico.

The roar of the fire grows a bit louder and so do the screams . The tunnel finally ends, dropping us off at a sort of beach. The sand is black and the water is murky. I instantly know that this is the River Styx.

Looming in the distance is a giant, black palace. There are three lines of shimmering spirits, all going in different directions. There were signs above the lines but I couldn't make out what they said from this distance.

Nico's grip tightens on my hand. He looks over at me, creases on his forehead. He walks forward, taking me with him. We head over towards a giant field that looks like it stretches on forever. We walk past the field until we reach these huge, golden gates.

"Elysium. We'll look here first since it's a smaller community. If we get close to him, you might feel a pull or something." Nico says.

We walk right up in front of them and Nico places his hand on the giant lock. I hear a clicking sound and the gates swing open, soundlessly. We walk past them and the gates close again.

I look around. There are several different houses. Some look modern, others look like they came from the 1800s, and there were some that just looked like shacks that would fall down in you blew on them. There's one that looks like the Big House at camp. I look closely at it and see there's a sign above the door that reads, "Camp Half-Blood." I shiver and look away from it.

We walk all around. I don't feel any pull whatsoever and I don't see any house that has a sign above it that says, "Amazing Surgeons Who Died Too Young."

"Nico," I sigh.

"I don't think he's here. He must be in the Fields." I say.

"I think you're right. Let's turn in for the night and search again tomorrow." he says.

"Where are we going to "turn in"?" I ask.

Nico looks mournful, as if he hated the words he was about to say. "My father's palace."

**A/N:**

**What did you guys think of this chapter? If I ever met Nico, I'd want to hear him sing. It's just one of those things that I think would be cool to experience... Well, it would be amazing to meet ****_anyone_**** from the series... If it were possible. *Sigh* But sadly, it's not. :(**

**How was everybody's week? Mine was pretty much the usual. School, writing fics, reading stuff, and then sleeping.. Hahahaha! Pretty please with a cherry on top review! It would make my day and put a huge smile on my face! :)**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

We had left right after that. Nico placed his hand over the lock after we got outside the gates and I heard a click, indicating that they were locked up tight once again. We started walking towards the looming palace with it's black gates.

I was a bit disappointed that Lucas hadn't been in Elysium. I mean, he had saved lives and he had been an excellent father for gods' sake! What more is there to ask for?

Nico stops in front of a winding path. He looks at me and says, "You sure about this? We can always just sleep on the shore of the Styx."

"Nico, it will be fine. All we're doing is spending the night and then tomorrow we're off searching again. We'll be gone before he even realizes we're here." I say. I was starting to get a bit exasperated with all of Nico's worrying.

He lets out a defeated sigh and takes my hand. We start to climb the path. I don't understand why Nico's so worried. I mean, I understand that Hades can be hot headed… Okay, _really_ hot headed. But it shouldn't be a big deal if we're just staying the night. Maybe they got into a fight the last time he was here and he doesn't want to face his father.

"We're here." Nico says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

We're standing before a large pair of black, wrought iron gates. There are carvings in them that tell stories of suffering and bloodshed. Wars and poverty cover them. Nico pushes them open and we walk in.

The garden we walked into was beautiful. There were all kinds of fruit trees and flowers. This was obviously where Persephone spent most of her time while she was here. I wanted to pluck one of the juicy, red apples off of a tree. I suddenly realized how hungry I was.

Nico must have read my thoughts because he said, "Don't eat anything here. You'll be cursed to stay down here for the rest of your life."

"Alright. But you better have a granola bar or something. I'm starving." I grumble, looking longingly at the apple tree.

I see him crack a small smile and that made me feel a little better. He was starting to make me nervous with all his nervousness. That's never good.

We get to the doors and Nico takes a deep breath before opening them. We enter. The only thing that comes to my mind while describing the inside is black and gold. Everything. It wasn't gaudy though. It looked classy and elegant somehow.

The floor was black obsidian tiles with glimmering chips of gold, the walls were black and gold striped, the curtains were gold silk. All the furniture was black. Like I said, _everything_.

Nico dragged me down a corridor and into a hallway of doors. He opened the seventh one on the left. We walked in and all I saw was Nico. Everything in this room was connected to him in some way. It even _smelled_ like him. Old Spice and freshly fallen rain.

There were posters of his favorite bands, a picture of him and I was sitting on the night stand beside his bed. The queen sized bed was neatly made, the black comforter wrinkle free and the pillows perfectly fluffed. Everything was in place and clean. It looked as if he had just left.

I walk over to the picture and pick it up in my hands. I sit down on the side of the bed and study it. In the picture, his arms are wrapped around my waist and he's looking down at me, smiling. I have my eyes squinted shut and look as if I'm in mid-laugh. Nico comes over and sits next to me.

"I remember this. It was a couple of weeks after I killed Callie. The first time I killed her, that is." I say, absentmindedly.

I set it back down on the table and lay back on the bed. A wave of sleepiness washed over me as soon as my head hit the pillow. I kick off my hi-tops and curl up. I pat the spot next to me, gesturing for Nico to join me. He lays down and pulls me close, kissing the top of my head.

"We'll find him tomorrow, Ky." he says.

"I hope you're right." I say, yawning and snuggling into his arms. I drift off, Nico's arms wrapped around me.

**A/N:**

**A bit of fluffiness there at the end. The next chapter is pretty funny, gets me laughing every time I read it!**

**Back to this chapter, where do you think Lucas is if he's not in Elysium?**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by our wonderfully talented Uncle Rick :)

* * *

I roll over on the bed to where Nico should be. He's not there. I groan. Not this again. Why is it that he always manages to leave without waking me up?

I rub my eyes then sit up. I run my fingers through my messy hair then look around, blearily. My eyes skim over the room. It looks exactly as it had last night, except that Nico's clothes from yesterday were on the floor and his shoes were missing.

I glance over to my left where the closet and dresser are. I see something white that sort of shimmers. I look again and start screaming. Standing there was a skeletal ghost. It was a girl in a French maids' dress, fishnet leggings and all.

She stands there, impassive, while I scream bloody murder and practically fall off the bed, backing up against the wall opposite the ghost.

A second later, the door bangs open and Nico's there, looking distraught. When he sees my horrified expression and then sees the ghost maid, he starts laughing. _Laughing_!

I run over and hide behind him. He's laughing so hard that he's shaking and tears are rolling down his cheeks. I peek around him and see that the ghost maid was still standing there, as if I had not just screamed my head off at her or that Nico was laughing hysterically right now.

"Nico." I whisper.

He finally gets his laughter under control and, wiping the tears off of his face, says, "Yea, Ky?"

"What-why-who?" I couldn't quite phrase the question.

"That's one of my father's servants. It's one of the lesser punishments you can receive in the Underworld." he explains.

"Oh. Why is she here?" I ask.

"To tidy up the room." he says.

"Well, can you tell her to go away? I would like to take a shower before we continue our search and I don't really want a spirit in here when I do." I say.

He chuckles and says, "Sure."

He turns to the maid and says, "Oi ypiresíes sas den eínai anankaía aftí ti stigmí . Boreíte na páte ."

I quickly translate what he said in Greek to English. _'Your services are not needed at this moment. You may go.'_ I mentally roll my eyes. _I _could have done _that._ The maid dissipates into nothingness and Nico and I are alone.

"Quite a wake up call, huh?" he says, turning back to me.

"Um, yea. You could have warned me about that." I say, going over to my backpack and getting out the spare set of clothes.

"But what fun would that be? Then I wouldn't have been able to be the hero that saves the damsel in distress." he says, his mouth quirking into a smirk.

I roll my eyes and walk past him, towards the bathroom. I'm about to close the door when I peek my head around it.

"Could you, um, stay in here while I take a shower? I don't want anymore surprise guests." I say, sheepishly, not making eye contact with him.

Nico smiles and says, "Sure, Ky. Go on. Hades is expecting us."

I nearly drop my clean clothes. Since _when_ were we going to meet with Hades? As I recall, yesterday Nico didn't seem all that psyched to even _be_ in his father's palace. Maybe that's where he had gone this morning. Maybe he had gone to talk to his father and whatever fight they might have had, had been resolved and they were "buddy-buddy" again. I was pretty sure I would find out after I showered.

**A/N:**

**I can't tell you how hard I laughed while writing this chapter! I have no clue why it's so funny... I guess just the mental image of Kyra, who's supposed to be all strong and not really afraid of anything and refuses to cry, screaming her head off and falling off the bed, trying to get away from the ghost maid, just gets me...**

**How was everybody's Friday? Mine was pretty normal. School and stuff. I ****_did_**** get called "groovy" by an old guy who works at this Japanese grill we have in my town. That was kinda strange, but funny at the same time. He also said he liked my jeans... They were some I got at Target a few weeks ago. They're skinny jeans (I pretty much refuse to wear any other kind of jeans) and they're ripped and faded. They're my favorite at the moment.**

**Ugg. I'm babbling. Go on. Review! They mean soooooooooooo much to me! I know you want toooo...**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

When I came out of the bathroom, Nico was taking some things out of his dresser and putting them in his backpack. I walk over to where mine is and stuff my clothes inside, not bothering to fold them.

"So, when are we going to the Fields? After we talk to your father?" I ask, tying my hi-tops' laces.

"Yea. Are you ready?" he asks, zipping his backpack shut.

"Yep. Hey, I never got that granola bar." I say, giving him a look and crossing my arms.

He chuckles and pulls a packet of trail mix out of one of the pockets on his pack. He tosses it to me and I catch it. I sling my backpack over my shoulder then open the bag. I start picking out the M&M's and popping them into my mouth.

"Happy now?" Nico asks, his lip curling into a smirk.

"Mmmhhmmmm." I mumble, between bites of banana chips and raisins.

"Let's go." he says, opening the door.

He looks a little nervous all of a sudden. I'm a little nervous myself. About meeting Hades, possibly finding Lucas, bringing Lucas back to life if we _do_ find him. But I try to shove it aside. I couldn't be nervous right now. I had to be strong and level-headed if I had _any_ chance whatsoever of doing any of those things.

I walk out of the bedroom and into the hallway. It was very dark in the hall. The only light was coming from Nico's bedroom. That soon went away after he turned out the light and closed the door. He walks over and stops short. He's looking at me strangely.

"What?" I ask.

"You-Ky you're-" he stuttered.

"I'm _what?_" I ask, defensively.

"_Glowing_." he breathes.

"Are you _high_?! I'm not-" I start but come to a halt.

I look at my hand and see that Nico was right. I _was_ glowing. How was this even possible? I had never noticed myself glowing before. I'm pretty sure, by the look on his face, Nico hadn't noticed either.

"How?" I ask, mystified.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this." he says, taking my hand and looking at it closely.

We stand there in the dark hall, looking at my glowing body, for at least five minutes. Eventually, I remember we were supposed to meet with Hades and I snap out of my wonder. I did _not_ want to make Hades angry.

"Come on. We'll look at this later. We need to go meet your father." I say, taking Nico's hand and dragging him down the hallway and towards the foyer.

* * *

Once we got to the corridor, Nico led the way. We went towards the back of the giant palace and ended up in front of a very large pair of black ebony doors. They were inlaid with golden roses, the thorns protruding slightly from the smooth wood.

Nico takes a deep breath then pushes the great doors open. The throne room took my breath away. It was beautiful in a horrifying way. The floor was the same obsidian tiles but, instead of golden chips, there were gold buttercups that seemed to be growing and twisting all over the floor. Behind the thrones, was a giant window that stretched at least thirty feet across the wall. The view was of craggy cliffs with a few caves in them. There was also a river that looked to be made of milky water. I knew better though. That was the River Lethe.

There was a fire place that glowed with the green flames of the Underworld. The flames whispered. I'm not trying to be poetic; they really _were_ whispering! Every few seconds I would see a face appear in the flames then disappear as quickly as it had come. I shudder to think of what awful thing you had to have done to have to spend eternity trapped in flames.

There were two thrones in the back on a raised platform. One was made completely out of white bones, the other one was the shape of a golden peach blossom. I could guess whose was whose. Partly because there was somebody sitting in the bone throne.

It was Hades himself. He looked absolutely terrifying but also quite handsome. He was wearing a black crown, with red rubies, diamonds, and several other jewels, inlaid in it, and a suit that was black as night. The crown and the suit don't really go together, but I guess if you're a god, anything can go. I can see the resemblance between him and Nico. They both have the same pale, olive skin and angular face. The same dark eyes and dark hair.

There were a lot of differences though. Nico's eyes were almond shaped and lively as to Hades' round, hollow looking ones. Nico's nose turns up a little on the end whereas Hades' was straight all the way down. Hades' lips were pale and thin and Nico's were a bit full and a light, pinkish color.

We walk forward and toward Hades. We stop at the bottom of the platform and kneel. I hear Hades stand up and pace.

"So, I finally get to meet you, Kyra Hale." Hades says.

"Yes, Lord Hades. It's a pleasure." I say. I was hoping I had answered correctly. I didn't really feel like being incinerated today...Or any day for that matter.

"Oh, stand up." Hades says, impatiently.

We do. So quickly that my head started to spin a bit.

"Much better. I like to look people in the eyes while I'm talking to them, don't you?" Hades asks.

"I couldn't agree with you more, sir." I say.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much I've heard of you since last summer?" Hades asks, plopping down into his throne.

I glance over at Nico and see his cheeks and neck have gone a bit rosy and he was giving Hades his worst death glare. Hades simply ignored it though. I try to hide a smile and look back to Hades.

"No sir. I can't say I do." I say.

Hades breathes a dramatic sigh and throws his hands up. "Every single day! At breakfast, lunch, _and_ dinner! I bet I know more about your eyes and how they "laugh" than anybody else in the world!" he exclaims.

I suppress a snicker at Hades' dramatic response to Nico's non-stop talk of me. I hadn't known he had talked about me to Hades but it was a sort of nice thought.

"But, it's good to finally meet you Kyra. I hope my son has taken good care of you." he says, giving Nico a suspicious look.

I nod and say, "Oh, yes sir."

"Persephone will be _so_ jealous she didn't get to meet you." he says, smug.

"After hearing Nico talk of you all the time, you've sparked her interest." he says.

"I would have _loved_ to meet her." I say, smiling. I was being honest. Any lady that can turn people into flowers, I would be overjoyed to meet. As long as she didn't turn _me _into a flower.

"You two should come back for a few days this winter. She'll be here then." he says.

I was a little taken aback at his offer. I seriously hadn't expected Hades to be _this_ friendly. From what Percy told me, he was angry and hot-headed all the time. But then, that could just be Percy's effect on Hades.

Something beeps and Hades gives an impatient sigh. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone. Who knew gods had them too?! He taps at the screen then looks up at us.

"I'm so sorry, but I must get going. I have a meeting with a few of the judges and they don't like to be kept waiting." he says.

He really _did_ look sorry about having to leave, which surprised me a bit. He comes down the steps of the platform and walks up to us. He places a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Take care of her. She's a good one." he says, winking at me.

Then he takes my hand a kisses it. "It was a pleasure, Kyra." he says, with a smile.

Then, he strides out of the throne room and towards the foyer. Nico and I stand there for a minute before leaving as well. That hadn't been _nearly_ as bad as I had thought it would be.

**A/N:**

**I decided to give you guys another chapter since all I've been posting lately are really short ones. I always wonder if Hades really is a nice god. Because, and this could just be because they're his children, he was really nice to Hazel in one of her flashbacks in The Son of Neptune and he seems like he sorta likes Nico. What do you think? Is he a nice god or a mean one?**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

We were walking down the winding path, away from the palace and towards the Fields. Neither of us had spoken since Hades had left us.

I finally broke the silence with, "Your dad is pretty nice."

"Mmhhmm." Nico mumbles.

I glance over at him and see the creases on his forehead. He obviously hadn't been listening to me.

"So what are we going to do when we get to the Fields? Same thing we did in Elysium yesterday? Just walk around and see if I feel anything?" I ask, trying to get his attention again.

"Yea. If you don't, I'll try summoning him." he says.

"Why not summon him to begin with?" I ask, because honestly, it would save us a ton of time if he started with summoning.

"The spirits get restless during a summoning. It can be dangerous." he says.

"Oh." I say.

We reach the end of the path and start in the direction of the vast Fields. They stretch out for, what seems like, forever. I couldn't see where it ended at all. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Find anything?" Nico asks, walking towards me.

I shake my head. "No. No pull or anything. Nothing." I say, plopping down at the base of a poplar tree and feeling like this was hopeless.

Nico sits down next to me and takes my hand. I look over at him, into his dark eyes. They had lost some of their liveliness. They looked more like his father's now.

"I think we're going to have to summon him." I say.

Nico nods and gets up, pulling me to my feet. We start walking in the direction of the Styx. When we reach the black sand, Nico takes out his sword and plunges it into the ground. There's a slight rumble and the ground cracks open.

A skeletal hand grips the edge of the crack, pulling itself up onto the ground. One other skeleton comes up as well. The fissure closes, looking as if there had never been anything there.

The skeletons were looking at Nico with their hollow eye sockets. They were obviously waiting for orders from the person who had summoned them.

"Dig a pit. Quickly." Nico tells them.

They turn and start working, their bony hands scraping at the black sand. Nico looks to me and gives me a hard look.

"When I start the chant, I want you to stay back. Like I said, these can get dangerous. I haven't done one since I was eleven." he says. The last sentence he said more to himself than to me.

The scraping of bone against sand stops and Nico and I look to where the skeletons are. They were standing there, waiting for their next order.

"That will be all." Nico says, then waves his hand and the skeletons collapse into two piles of bones.

"Over there." Nico says, pointing to a poplar tree twenty feet away.

I give a small sigh and turn my back on him, going to stand by the tree. Something about this didn't feel right. Well, nothing about it was _right_. It's not right to bring a person back from the dead, but the summoning didn't feel right. It felt like something was wrong.

Nico takes out the remaining trail mix and throws it into the pit. I can see his lips moving as he starts to chant. A light mist crept up around the pit. I see a slight shimmer, but nothing distinct. Nico's chanting was getting faster and there was a dark aura around him.

I see a figure rise from the pit. Nico's chanting slows and he stares at the figure. He has a confused expression on his face, as if he wasn't looking at a spirit, but something alive.

I can't make out the features of the figure. I start to creep over, not making a sound. Nico was still standing there, the creases in his forehead deep.

The mist was getting thicker around the pit. So thick that I could barely see Nico. I start walking faster. This was definitely not right. Something was wrong.

I hear a gasp of pain then a cackle. I stop dead in my tracks as the mist fades, quickly, away. Nico's staring at his hand, glistening and scarlet. I look at his chest and see that his shirt is ripped and his torso is drenched in blood. _His_ blood.

I look at the figure in the pit and see an empousa. But this wasn't just any empousa. This was Callie. She was looking at Nico with a satisfied smile on her ugly face. Her fingers were tipped with talons and they were dripping red.

She sees me and smirks. Then she spins around in the pit and disappears. All this happens within five seconds. I start sprinting towards Nico just as he sways then collapses on the sand.

**A/N:**

**Maaaan. I bet you guys hate me for leaving it there. You'll just have to wait till Saturdaaaay!**

**Just to prove my point that Monday is the suckiest (is that even a word?) fucking day of the week, my friend's dad died. He's been in the hospital for a few weeks now and this morning he just went. My mom got a sympathy card for the mom, who's her friend, and said that I should probably get one for my friend too.**

**Now, this may just be me, but getting a sympathy card in the mail is not going to make anything better whatsoever. When my grandfather died five years ago, there wasn't enough sorrys, sympathy cards, flowers, hugs or kisses to make the situation better. I had just lost someone very close to me and getting stuff like that just felt like it was being rubbed in my face that he was gone forever and I'd never see him again or get hugs from him again. It just made everything more painful.**

**I was really stressing over what to write because just a "I'm so sorry for your loss" thing wasn't going to cover it. I mean, for gods' sake, she lost her ****_dad!_**** Considering how hard it was to say goodbye to my grandfather, a man I only saw a couple of times a year, I can't even fathom how hard this is on her, facing the fact that someone she saw everyday, lived with and loved, is dead.**

**So, I was pondering what to write and I couldn't think of a thing so I texted my best friend and asked her. She understood exactly what I was talking about, the whole "Sorry for your loss" thing not being enough. So I though about it for a few minutes then it just came to me. A poem! Lately, as I face difficult situations in life, I find myself writing. Sometimes it's fanfiction or sometimes it's poems. So I wrote all the things I was feeling for her and the things ****_I _****felt after my grandfather died. It's a quite sad poem but I like it. I sent it to my friend that I had been texting and she said that it was perfect. I just put it in between the card, but didn't actually write anything in the card. **

**Wow, this was a reeeeealllllly long A/N. I'm sorry if I bored you to death while you were reading it.**

**Life is too short,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

I reach Nico in a matter of seconds. There was already a small pool of blood, getting bigger as the minutes ticked away. I collapse onto my knees and yank open my backpack. I pull out my dirty shirt and wad it up, pressing it against Nico's slashed chest.

His breathing was ragged, as if he had just run a very long distance without stopping. He was staring up at the stalactites of the Underworld's ceiling, high above.

"Nico." I say, patting his cheek.

He looks over at me. "Ky. She-she was-" he was cut off by a vicious fit of coughing.

He takes his hand away from his mouth and it was splattered in blood. I felt like fainting at the sight of it, but I couldn't. I needed to keep his attention on me.

"Nico. Stay with me. You're gonna be alright. Let me just get some nectar out of-" but he cut me off.

"Ky, no. I-it's my time." he says.

"No! Don't you do this to me! You can't leave me, not now. I don't need my mother, or even John. The only person I'll ever need is you." I say, looking into his eyes.

There were tears streaming down my face and I was having a hard time at not breaking down in sobs. This reminded me a lot of last year when John almost died after having Callie suck most of the blood out of him.

"It will be okay, Ky." he whispers, then, he's eerily still.

Except this time the person I loved, died. I wasn't able to save him this time.

"Nico! No! You can't leave me! Please, Nico. Please. Come back. Come back." I have my face buried in his chest.

I was probably getting blood all over my face, but I didn't care. I'd rather die myself than live without Nico. I was sobbing into my dirty tee shirt, now soaked with Nico's blood.

"What a shame. He was a good man." a familiar voice says behind me.

I jerk up and whip my head around. Standing there, in his trench coat and hat, is Hypnos. He looked exactly the same as I had seen him a few days ago.

"What do you want?" I ask, sniffling and trying to control my sobs.

"To see how things are going. By the looks of it, not so well." he says, wandering over to stand above Nico and I.

"Well, you're correct. It's going terribly. We didn't find Lucas in Elysium or the Fields. When Nico tried summoning him, Callie appeared in the pit and-" I choke off, unable to finish the sentence. I couldn't say, "killed him."

"Kyra, have you always glowed?" Hypnos asks, changing the subject.

"I-no. Not that I've noticed. Nico saw it this morning and pointed it out to me." I say, looking at my hand that was glowing a golden color in the dim lighting.

Hypnos gasps. "Kyra. You can save him." he says, sounding excited.

"_What?_" I ask, unbelieving that I could bring Nico back.

"No, it's true! I've only seen this one other time in an Apollo child and that was hundreds of years ago. You can not only capture sunlight, that's what the glowing is about, but you can bring people back to life that have died just minutes before. You know how your siblings can heal injuries at camp?" he asks.

"Yea." I say, my brain having trouble wrapping around this concept.

"Your power is like that, but fifty times stronger." he says, sounding like he was in awe.

"But how do I make it work?" I ask.

"Have you learned any healing chants at camp?" he asks.

"Yea, a couple. Why? How will a healing chant bring Nico back?" I ask, glancing at Nico's still form.

"Place your hand over his heart and start chanting the most powerful one you know. Be careful though. It can drain you of energy." he says.

"If it brings him back, I'd give all the energy I have and then some." I say, placing my hand over Nico's heart.

"Therapéfste tous travmatíes therapeía o árrostos exáplosi lígi liakáda na mou dósei dýnami na kánei aftá ta prágmata" I chant.

For a second, my hand glowed a bit brighter but then it faded back to it's usual glow. I didn't feel a heartbeat. I look back at Hypnos, mournful.

"Is there another one?" he asks.

"There are _several_ others but that one was the strongest." I say.

"Have you ever thought of making up a chant?" he asks.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Have you ever tried making up a healing chant?" he asks.

"No. I've never had a reason to." I say.

"Well, now you have a reason." he says.

I take a deep breath then say, "Okay."

I think for a second then it just hits me. I start chanting. It comes out more as a sad song in Greek than a healing chant.

"Férte píso aftós o ánthropos mou  
Gia álli mia forá as lámpsei  
Afí̱ste ton na eínai zontanós kai kalá  
Antí tis se aftí tin pýrini kólasi

Theoí akoúsei tin ékklisí mou  
An den polloí tha pésoun  
Sas ekliparó  
Dóse mou mia idéa."

I finish and still don't feel a heartbeat. I try again, singing/chanting the Greek poem faster. My body glows brighter. Almost too bright to look at.

When I finish it again, he still wasn't moving. I collapse over Nico's body, devastating sobs racking through my body. I feel a hand on my back. I assume it's Hypnos.

"Ky." I hear a voice whisper.

I stop crying, with difficulty, and look up slowly. I almost can't believe I did it. Staring at me, with his eyes confused and helpless, is Nico. My beautiful, blood and black sand covered, Nico. I give a cry of joy and fling my arms around him, never so happy to have his arms around me.

**A/N:**

**I think Nico just ****_wants_**** to die. I mean, he got swallowed by the giant snake in my first story "The Adventure", but he managed to live that. You guys are gonna freak when I post the next chapter on Tuesday... No one dies but man, it's a real twist. Let me know what you guys think about Kyra's new found power.**

**Sooooo, House of Hades comes out on October 8th! I saw the facebook thing today announcing it! I'm super excited! I really hope Nico is one of the narrators...**

**How was everybody's week? Mine was pretty much the same. I took my first painting class on Tuesday night and it was fun. Oh! Yesterday night, I saw Jack the Giant Killer! It was sooooooooo good! If you like adventure, a tad of romance, and hot guys, I'd suggest going to see it.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Ky, what happened?" Nico asks me.

"You were trying to summon Lucas. This really thick fog came out of nowhere and when it cleared Callie was-" he sits up abruptly.

"Callie." he says, eyes widening.

"Yea. Callie. She was in the pit and she clawed your chest. Really deep, long cuts. Her talons must have been dipped in poison or something for it to kill you that quickly." I say, eyeing him carefully.

"She-Ky! Holy Hades! Ky, Jazzy is Callie!" he exclaims, jumping to his feet.

"What are you talking about? Jaz can't be Callie." I say, standing up as well. He _must_ be hallucinating from all the blood he lost.

"No, listen. When the fog came, Jazzy rose out of the pit and she transformed into Callie. Jazzy has been the monster all along." he says, pacing and running his bloody hand through his hair.

"It _would_ make sense." Hypnos speaks up, startling Nico and I.

I had been so relieved about Nico that I had forgotten all about Hypnos.

"What do you mean?" I ask, curious.

"Well, she _is_ a daughter of Hecate, or at least pretending to be one. She could easily persuade someone to get a hold of a spell that hides her true form and allows her to cross the camp border. Tell me, did she get to camp before or after everything happened with your mother?" he asks.

I think for a moment then say, "Before."

Hypnos nods. "Then she is Callie. She came into the camp, claiming she was a daughter of Hecate, and somehow found the enchantment for the sleeping trance." he says.

The realization hits me like a brick. How could I have been so stupid and trusted her? I should have only trusted my friends that were closest to me, not someone who I had just met a few weeks ago.

"Then tell me something." I say, plopping down on the ground.

"What?" Hypnos asks.

"When Nico tried summoning Lucas, why didn't he appear? Why did Callie appear?" I ask, resting my head in my hands. I had a headache all of a sudden.

"That's why I came here. I was trying to find you. I discovered yesterday that Lucas isn't dead." he says.

**A/N:**

**I'm updating a bit early because I'm in a surprisingly good mood for a Monday and I don't think I'll have enough time tomorrow. I know, I know. It was an extremely short chapter, ****_but_**** two major things were revealed! I might just upload chapter 17 too so you won't be hanging till Saturday...**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful PJ or HoO series by Mr. Rick Riodan.

* * *

My head snaps up and I'm on my feet within seconds. I got up so quickly that my head started to spin. I had to brace myself against a poplar tree to keep from falling down.

"Ky, are you okay?" Nico asks, concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." I brush it off.

"Are you sure?" he asks, coming over to me and placing a hand on my arm.

"Yes. I'm perfectly fine Nico." I say, then, turning to Hypnos, ask, "What you do _mean_ Lucas isn't dead? How can he _possibly_ be alive? I saw him take his last breath. I saw his lifeless body at the visitation and then the casket being lowered into the ground."

"It was an illusion. I would guess Callie had someone do it for her. Everybody in your family, besides John and your mother, believe he's still alive. Even his colleagues at work think he's alive, just on vacation." Hypnos says.

I lean heavily against the tree. This was going to take a few minutes to sink in. My head was still spinning and I felt exhausted. I guess bringing Nico back had taken more energy than I thought it had.

"Do you know where he is?" Nico asks.

"The city." Hypnos says.

"New York?" Nico asks.

Hypnos nods.

"Do you know _where_ he is in the city?" I ask.

"I do. He works at the Beth Israel Hospital." Hypnos says.

"Well, let's go then. I don't want to waste any more time." I say, peeling myself from the tree.

I bend down and sling my bag over my shoulder. I take a step then collapse onto the ground.

* * *

"Ky. Ky wake up." I feel a hand on my forehead and what feels like a heavy blanket over me.

I squint open my eyes and see I'm back in Nico's bedroom. I sit up from the bed, my head hammering. I groan and rest my head in my hands.

"What _happened_?" I ask.

"You passed out after you tried to walk and I carried you up here." he says.

"You _carried_ me?" I ask.

"Don't act _too_ surprised. You're not _that_ heavy and I'm pretty strong." he says, smirking at me and flexing his biceps.

I lean forward and wrap my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I was so scared I had lost you." I mumble into his shoulder.

"I know. But it's okay now, Ky. We can go find Lucas and bring him to your mother." Nico says, rubbing my back.

"There's something bothering me though." I say, pulling back and looking at him.

"What?" Nico asks.

"If he's been alive the past three weeks, why hasn't he come and found me or John? Shouldn't he remember us? And why is he in New York?" I ask.

"I don't know. But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." he says.

"I guess you're right." I sigh.

* * *

Shortly after I had regained some of my energy, we started towards the tunnel. I was still pretty tired but just thinking about Lucas actually being alive, well, that kept me going along.

We made it to the entrance of the tunnel, the steps leading up into pitch black nothingness. I take a deep breath and we start the long trek up.

**A/N:**

**And that's all you're getting until Saturday! Was anybody expecting Lucas to be alive or Jazzy being Callie? Let me know what you think!**

**If anyone has any questions about the story or just wants to talk, you can PM me! :)**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

The boulder creeks open, blinding us with bright sunlight. I have to shield my eyes from it as I stumble through the crack in the large boulder. Nico comes out behind me and I hear the slight rumble of the rock closing up.

I take my hand away from my eyes and look around. We were back exactly where we had been yesterday, in an abandoned part of Central Park.

"So, where's Beth Israel?" I ask.

"We'll have to shadow travel there. It's about three miles from where we are. I don't think you have quite enough strength to walk that far yet." he says, looking at me as if I might collapse at any moment.

I sigh and say, "Nico, it will be fine. I can walk."

"No. We're shadow traveling and it will be quicker anyway. And, we won't have to deal with people bumping into us or the nasty alleys." he says.

He _did_ have a point. Baltimore had both of those things and I didn't like either one. I give in and link my arm through his. He locates a shadow and we plunge in.

* * *

We ended up in the gloom behind a dumpster in a narrow alley. The sounds of bustling footsteps on the sidewalk and the purr of car engines were louder here. I let go of Nico's arm and we start walking out of the alley.

We reach the sidewalk and look around. I spot the hospital right away and point to it. We start walking over, careful not to bump into anyone and keeping a watchful eye for monsters, specifically a certain empousa.

We cross the street, along with several other people, and make our way to the main entrance of the hospital. We stop in front of the doors. I look at them, not quite sure if I want to walk in.

"Ky?" Nico asks, nudging my shoulder.

I take a breath and push open the door. We walk into a clean, white waiting room. The smell of Latex plastic gloves, bleach, and sickness fill my nose, making me want to gag. I have always detested that smell.

I scurry over to the information desk and tap on the glass separating the waiting room from the office. The receptionist slides the clear wall open and gives me a bored look.

"May I help you?" she asks in a flat, high pitched voice.

"Yes. I've been looking for a neurosurgeon and I recently found that he works at this hospital." I say, nervous.

"What's his name?" she asks.

"Lucas Hale." I say.

She types on the keyboard and gazes at the computer monitor. She looks from me to the monitor, suspicious.

"And who might you be?" she asks me.

"I-I'm his daughter." I say.

"Hmm. Let me call his office and see if he'll see you. Dr. Hale is a very busy man." she says, picking up a phone with an extremely long cord and punching a button.

She mumbles into the receiver then hangs up. She turns back to me and says, "He'll see you. Go to those swinging doors and down the hall. His office is the third door on the right."

"Thank you, ma'am." I say, turning away from the desk and grabbing Nico's hand.

I drag Nico to the swinging doors and push through them. I walk down the hall, stopping at the third one on the right. On the door, printed in large, black letters was, "Dr. Lucas Hale. Neurosurgeon."

I tentatively knock on the door and someone inside says, "Come in." I turn the doorknob and swing the door open. The inside of the office is dim with a few shadows in the corners. The walls are painted a pretty light green and the floor is that ugly tile all doctors' offices have. Standing towards the back of the room, looking a bit frazzled and holding a coat rack over his shoulder like a baseball bat, was Lucas.

**A/N:**

**A bit early on updating again for the same reason of not having enough time tomorrow. Kind of a bleh chapter, but oh well!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or the HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"Lucas?" I ask, cautiously stepping forward.

"Don't take another step. You need to answer a few questions only Kyra would know before I believe it's you." he says, eyeing me carefully.

"Okay. What are your questions?" I ask. At least he remembered me.

"Where do we live?" he asks.

"Baltimore, Maryland. We live a quarter of a mile outside of the city in a two-story red brick house." I say.

"What year did I marry your mother?" he asks.

"September 10th, 2002. I was four and John was fourteen." I say.

"Why did you come home crying on Valentine's Day in first grade?" he asks. He seemed to be loosening up a little.

"Because when I asked Gabriel Hughes to be my Valentine, he turned me down and said he'd rather have a slimy frog as his Valentine." I say, cringing a bit. Even after all these years, that one still stung.

"Ouch." Nico says, behind me.

"Shut up." I say, over my shoulder.

"One more question. What was my nickname for you?" he asks.

"Kywalabear." I say, quietly, looking down.

Lucas drops the coat rack with a clatter and breaths in sharply. I look back up and see he's staring at me, his eyes glistening.

"It is you." he breaths.

I run to him and he holds me tightly. I never thought I'd get a hug from him again.

"Why are you in New York? Why aren't you home?" I ask, stepping out of his embrace and crossing my arms, looking at him accusingly.

"I don't know. I've tried leaving and every time I cross the border of the city, I'm automatically back in my parking space outside of my apartment building." he says, running a hand through his blond hair.

"When we came in, you looked as if I were going to attack you. What's happened in the past three and a half weeks?" I ask.

"These-monsters started to come to the hospital two weeks ago. Every one claimed to be you and I let every one in, hoping that it _was_ you. The first one, that one nearly killed me. After her, I knew better than to just _assume_ it was you. They're all this woman-like creature with one donkey leg and one metal leg. They're so pale, almost as if there's no blood going to their face. And their eyes, sometimes they're black as night and other times they're glowing red." he says, shuddering and looking a bit nauseous.

"Mr. Hale, have you always been able to see these creatures?" Nico asks, closing the office door and walking towards us.

"Great. You think I'm crazy." Lucas says, throwing his hands up.

"No, I don't. We see them too." Nico says.

"You do?" Lucas asks, his eyes widening.

Nico and I both nod.

"No. I haven't always seen them. It just started when that first one showed up. She looked exactly like Kyra for a few minutes then she changed into a monster." Lucas says.

"Nico, is it possible for someone to just _develop_ the Sight?" I ask.

"No. It's not. You have to be born with it like Rachel or Percy's mom. They must have cast an enchantment on him, enabling him to See." Nico says, studying Lucas.

"What are you talking about? You sound crazier than I do." Lucas says, looking from Nico to me and back again.

I look Lucas in the eye and ask, "Did mom ever elaborate on the activities at that camp I've been going to since last year?"

"No. I just assumed it was a regular summer camp. I'm guessing it's not?" Lucas says, sitting down in his spinning stool.

"Nope." I say.

I tell him that Nico and I are demigods and that there are hundreds of other demigods as well. That the Greek gods, who are thousands of years old, are still living today.

Then I get into my crazy story from the past year. I start from the very beginning when Nico found me in the floral closet at church, crying my eyes out. I tell him about Mo being a demigod as well and going on the quest with Nico and the others last year to New York to find Rachel, the camp's oracle. I tell him about Callie and how she's one of these creatures like the ones that have been impersonating me. I quickly go over the quest for Artemis' deer with Selene and Helios trying to get rid of Artemis then Apollo.

Then, I drop the first bomb. The one about him dying three and a half weeks ago, or so I thought. I explain to him that neither John or I had had any idea that he was alive and trapped in the city. Then, I drop the second bomb. I tell him about mom and everything that happened to her.

When I finish, Lucas is absolutely speechless. He looks to me and Nico, mouth hanging open and completely baffled. Eventually he gathers his bearings and speaks up.

"But-Kyra your mother is dead." he says.

**A/N:**

**And the plot thickens!**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"What are you talking about Lucas? She's alive and at a spa resort in New York." I say.

"No. She died three and a half weeks ago. Not me. She was in a car crash and was killed on impact. I came here on a business trip a few days after the funeral. I was only supposed to be here for the weekend. Don't you remember?" Lucas asks, looking extremely confused.

It dawned on me what Callie had done. She had someone do a sleeping trance on my mom and then a memory spell on Lucas. I was seriously getting tired of this chick.

"No. You have to listen. We thought _you_ were dead. After the funeral, I went up to my room to grab my bag and then I went downstairs to get some lunch money from mom. She was in the bathroom and, at the time, I thought Callie was going to kill her. Somehow though, she cast a type of sleeping trance on her that made her forget about me and John. Callie's objective was to make me miserable. Mom still remembers you though. She just thinks you're dead." I say.

"All we have to do, sir, is take you to the spa and you need kiss her. Then she'll remember." Nico says.

"I have no idea why Callie hates me so much. This is like her way of getting even for something." I say.

"But I saw-" Lucas says. He still didn't get it.

I sigh and pull out my phone. I go to John's number and call him. It rings a few times before he answers.

"Hello?" he says.

"John, I'm in New York and I found Lucas." I say.

The line went silent then exploded with questions. He was asking them so quickly that I didn't have time to answer any of them.

"John. _John_… JOHN!" I yell over the phone.

"What?" he asks, innocently.

I roll my eyes and say, "Listen. I need to you tell me the number of the resort mom is staying at. Actually, just tell me where the resort is."

"She's staying at The Emerson. It's in Mount Tremper, New York. From where you are, that's about two hours away." John says.

"It's no problem. Nico can shadow travel, remember?" I ask.

"Oh yea. It's kinda hard to get used to that. Please call me when you get everything sorted out." John says, worriedly.

"I will, I will." I say.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?" he says.

"Bye, John." I say, then end the call.

I stand up from the chair I had been sitting in and look to Nico and Lucas. Nico looked anxious and a bit fierce at the same time. It was a weird kind of expression. Lucas still looked shocked that I was actually here.

"Well, we might have a problem." I say.

"What?" they ask, simultaneously.

"Lucas might not be able to travel since the city is basically his prison." I say.

"Most trapping spells don't work on shadow travel." Nico says.

"Um, what about the time you were tapped in that jar?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"That was different. Gaea had cast that one and those giants had helped. They reinforced that spell every day so it never weakened. But this one, it's been up for three and a half, almost four, weeks. It _has_ to have weakened by now." Nico says.

"We can give it a try." I say, still not quite sure about this. I didn't know what would happen if the spell hadn't weakened. I didn't know if Lucas would just end up back in the parking space or if he'd just disappear in the shadows forever.

"Nico, can you take two people with you instead of just one?" I ask.

"I don't know. I've never tried. If I can, it will probably drain me, like that thing in the Underworld did to you earlier." he says.

I was so thankful he hadn't said what exactly had drained me. Lucas already didn't look so sure about the whole situation and I didn't want to make it worse by telling him that I can bring recently deceased people back from the dead with my healing powers. Or that I could capture sunlight and glow for that matter.

"Let's give it a try." I say.

**A/N:**

**SURPRISE UPDATE! I'm in a good mood today and I just finished writing the last chapter to this story! Six more chapters and then it's on to the next part of this series. Soooooo excited! I already have the beginning of part four mapped out in my head ****_and_**** the story's title. That was one of the tricky things I had to come up with for the last two. But I've had this idea in my head for about a month now. Okay, okay. I'll stop torturing you guys about plans for the next part.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

Nico was busy pacing the length of the alley and I was leaning against the brick wall. We had been waiting for Lucas for at least twenty minutes now. I could tell Nico was nervous about taking two people with him into the shadows. I would be too if there was a possibility that one could be lost in the shadows forever.

I hear approaching footsteps and look down the alley. Lucas was making his way over, stepping over broken beer bottles and other trash.

"So, how do we do this?" he asks.

"Take my hand and don't let go. No matter what. When we step into the shadow, it will be extremely cold, dark, and it will feel like your skin is being peeled off of your body. It only lasts a couple of seconds though." I say.

Lucas takes a deep breath then nods his head. I could tell he was a bit anxious, but he was trying to hide it. I couldn't blame him. The first time I shadow traveled, I had been scared out of my mind.

"Ready?" Nico asks.

"Yep." I say, hitching the strap of my backpack up on my shoulder.

Nico holds out his left arm and I grab his hand. Lucas hesitates a second before grabbing my free hand. Nico starts to walk towards the dumpster's shadow. Then, we build up speed and start running towards it. We plunge in and it's complete darkness.

* * *

I feel Lucas's grip tighten on my left hand. It was icy cold and it felt like my skin was being peeled off, nothing out of the ordinary. Well, not for me or Nico. I couldn't say the same for Lucas.

I'm suddenly blinded by a bright light. I squint my eyes open and see that we're in a small, wooded area. Behind us, there's the sound of rushing water. I look and see that there's a river. In front, through the trees, I can see the back of a building. A very large one at that too.

Nico was bent over, breathing hard. His skin looked like all the blood had been drained from it. I let go of Lucas' hand and open my bag, getting out a bottle half-full of nectar. I hand it to him and he takes a sip, the color instantly returning to his skin. He hands the bottle back to me and I stuff it back into my backpack.

I look to my left and see Lucas standing there, looking shell-shocked. I wave my hand in front of his face and he seems to break out of his trance. He shakes his head and looks at me.

"I _never_ want to do that again." he says.

Nico and I chuckle.

"Well, I think that's the spa. Come on, guys." I say, walking forward and waving at them to follow. I hear the crunch of leaves and know that they're behind me.

I break out of the trees and start walking faster towards the entrance. The Emerson was even bigger up close. It was a two-story building that stretched about as long as two football fields. There was a silo and a barn-type building farther down on the left.

I reach the back entrance, with Nico and Lucas on my heels. There's a doorman and he opens the door, looking at us strangely. It was so luxurious inside. There's an open bar and restaurant, a ginormous lobby, and a TV room. The floors are golden quartz, and the walls are a light beige.

I walk over to the desk and the receptionist looks up from her magazine.

"Yes?" she asks.

"Hi. I'm looking for Michelle Hale. Do you know what room she's staying in?" I ask.

"Are you visiting?" she asks.

"Yes ma'am. We're friends of hers." I say.

"One moment." she says.

She types on the computer and peers at the screen. It was like deja vu of earlier today at Beth Israel.

"She's in room 235. Would you like an escort up to the room?" she asks.

"No, that's fine. Thank you ma'am!" I say, turning away from the desk and to Nico and Lucas.

I point to the elevator and we walk over. I press the call button and a few seconds later there's a '_ding_'. The doors slide open to reveal a very upscale elevator. And when I say upscale, I _mean_ upscale.

The walls are mirrors and the floor is made of the same quartz that was in the lobby. There was even one of those guys who press the floor buttons for you! He presses the second floor button and the doors close. It starts to glide upward.

Suddenly, the elevator jerks and then stops. The lights flicker, but don't go off. '_Great_' I think, '_The_ _elevator_ _broke_.'

Instead of pressing the "help" button, the man turns to face us and he grins, revealing sharp, pointy teeth. This was no normal button pressing elevator man. This was most likely one of Callie's minions. Just my luck to get stuck in an elevator with one.

* * *

"What do we have here?" the man says, only it sounded like a woman, not a man.

The so called "man" started to transform. His clothes begin to look transparent until there is nothing there. His feet fuse together to form one large serpent tail. It's skin morphs to a disgusting, scaly, greenish brown from the waist down. From the waist up though, it's skin is as white as porcelain. What looked to me like angel wings protruded from it's back.

Lucas, Nico, and I are backed into the corner farthest away from the creature. I have my dagger out since firing an arrow didn't seem like a wise decision in such small quarters. Nico has unsheathed his pitch black sword.

The serpent thing cackles. I wanted to rip my ears off because it sounded so horrible. It sounded kinda like a fork scraping against a china plate.

"You thought we would make it this easy for you? Foolish demigods!" the creature laughs.

"Who are you?" Nico demands, a deadly glint in his eyes. I wouldn't want to be a monster when he had that look on his face. It was truly terrifying.

"Who am I? I am Lamia!" the thing shrieks.

I vaguely remembered Lamia's story. She was one of Zeus' lovers and he apparently hid her away in a cave when Hera was around. Somehow, Hera found Lamia and turned her into this monster and killed her children. Lamia is said to have lured men and children into her cave and devour them ever since.

"You work for Callie, don't you?" I say, stepping forward a bit.

Lamia laughs again. "Oh, yes. You could say I work for her." she says.

Lamia advances and Nico jumps forward and slashes out at the creature. It snags the edge of her green skin and black blood oozes out. She gives a high-pitched screech and backs away, looking at the sword with disgust. I step forward so that I'm side-by-side with Nico.

"Yes. I've heard of you, son on Hades. You two make _quite_ a pair." she says, gazing at us with something that looked a bit like jealousy.

"I had that once. But Hera had to step in a turn me into _this_." she says, gesturing to her disgusting body.

"That's why I joined Callie. She promised me that I'd get to slay the Olympian queen myself, watch her golden blood flow over the throne room floor. She said I could bring my slaughtered children back. She too experienced something quite similar." she was babbling now.

I glance over at Nico and raise and eyebrow. He nods his head slightly. That meant, "Go". I leap onto Lamia and stab my dagger into her arm. Once she was over the initial shock, she started howling.

I feel a jerk and realize the elevator has started working again. We'd have to make this quick if we didn't want to give the people on the second floor a heart attack.

"Nico!" I shout over Lamia's screams.

Before Nico could get to her, Lucas comes up and pulls out a glimmering, Imperial Gold sword. He makes a quick swipe at her waist. With a sickening '_shlock_', her whole body falls to the floor then crumbles into yellow dust.

Nico and I stare at Lucas in astonishment as he kicks the dust across the floor. He looks up and there's pure hatred burning in his blue eyes.

The elevator dings and comes to a stop. The doors slide open and we look at each other then step out of the small space and into a large hallway. I look at the sign on the wall and see that rooms 200-250 are to the right. I start walking in that direction, ready to finally have my mother back.

**A/N:**

**I completely forgot it was Saturday! I'm such a bad person. What did you guys think? What do you think Lamia meant when she said Callie had something similar happen to her? And how do you think Lucas got his hands on that sword? So many questions!**

**Have any of you ever felt like you're suffocating from all the things going on in your life? I've felt like that lately. I've been so busy with school, writing, and taking art classes that I've felt like I haven't had much time for anything else. To top it all off, there's these two boys who come to the pottery class I take and they're constantly insulting me. They're 12 and 9 btw and they're brothers. Ugh.**

**Anyway, I made the wrong mistake a few weeks ago of talking about how I hate being called goth because I'm not. I'm a sort of artistic punk. So they kept calling me goth, over and over again, and I literally almost cussed them out last Saturday when they crossed the line and called Green Day a goth band... That band is pretty much my lifesaver and I'll be damned if I let someone insult them (and me) like that. I was so fucking angry you wouldn't believe. And my best friend was sitting across from me, and she knows how much I love Green Day, and she tried telling them to knock it off. Eventually, I called the teacher back and she told them to stop. But, we didn't have class this week because of spring break so my self-esteem had a little time to heal before Thursday when it's likely the insults will start again.**

**Reviews are appreciated, as usual. :)**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by our wonderfully talented Rick Riodan :)

* * *

"What the hell was that, Lucas?" I ask, looking at the numbered doors.

"There's something I didn't tell you two at the hospital." Lucas says, looking down at his feet.

"Well, I kinda figured that when you pulled the sword." I say, rolling my eyes.

"I'm a demigod too." he says, quietly.

I stop short, causing Nico to bump into me. I turn to face Lucas, unbelieving at what he had just said.

"What?" I ask.

"I'm pretty sure you heard me." he says.

"And when exactly were you planning on telling me?" I ask.

"Never. I didn't know you were a demigod until last year. I've heard of Camp Half-Blood but I've never been there." he says.

"Wait, you've never been there? Then how in the world did you find that sword and know how to fight with it. Wait, no. How did you even _survive_ past the age of ten?" I ask.

"I'm a Roman demigod... From Camp Jupiter." he says.

"But that's all the way in California! How did you meet mom?" I ask, my thoughts a raging war.

"I left Camp Jupiter and came to Maryland five years before I met your mother. I met her at the hospital when she came to bring John in for a broken arm." he says.

"Does she know?" I ask.

"I don't think so." he says, shaking his head.

"Who's your godly parent?" Nico asks.

"Venus." Lucas says, blushing a little.

"That would explain why you're always so well dressed." Nico says, smirking.

"Nico!" I say, bumping him.

"No. It's okay because it's true." Lucas says, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"Well, enough of this. We need to find mom. And you're going to tell her after the trance is broken." I say, eyeing Lucas.

"I agree. I'm tired of hiding from her." Lucas says.

We start walking down the hall again, looking at the numbered doors, trying to find room 235. We finally see it. I felt like jumping for joy but I knew I couldn't just yet. I was still a bit skeptical about the whole kiss thing.

I knock on the door and it creaks open. This was not a good sign. I tentatively walk inside, Nico and Lucas behind me. The room was dim and had an overwhelming smell of vanilla and lavender.

I walk in deeper, my eyes straining to see. I make out a white shape on top of what looks like a table. I creep over, careful not to make any noise. I get closer and see it's a person on a massage table. I poke the person and they jump.

"What in the world?!" the person shrieks.

It was my mother. I guess she had been getting a massage. She wraps the white sheet around herself and sits up. She reaches for a remote and clicks a button. The lights come on and she stares at me.

"You! I thought I told you not to bother me again." she screams.

"Before you kick me out, listen to me." I plead, holding my hands up.

"What do you want from me?" she asks.

"If there was any way you could have back your husband, would you do it?" I ask her.

"Of course!" she says, like it wasn't even a doubt in her mind.

"Well, here you go." I say, stepping aside and revealing Lucas.

She gasps and hops off of the table, walking toward Lucas with round eyes. Nico and I step out of the room and close the door behind us. I look at Nico and he takes my hand. We sit down outside the door and wait.

**A/N:**

**Kind of a short chapter but did you see the whole "Lucas being a Roman demigod" thing coming? I thought about making him just a regular Greek demigod but then it made more sense, to me, to make him a Roman demigod.**

**I'm updating a teeny bit early for the sake of not having enough time tomorrow. We met with my aunt in Nashville today and picked up my grandmother and she's spending a week and a half with us. That should be fun... If I do have enough time tomorrow, and if I'm not completely drop dead exhausted, I'll post another chapter! Just four more to go until this one is done! Are you excited? Because I am! :)**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"It's been a while. Do you think we should go in?" I ask.

"Nah. Lucas is probably explaining why he's not dead and stuff. I'd give it another ten minutes." Nico says, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. He looks exhausted.

"Okay. But what if something's wrong?" I ask, getting up and pacing. I, on the other hand, was too nervous to be tired.

"Ky, if something _were_ wrong, we would have heard something from inside the room. Calm down." he says.

"Fine, fine." I say.

I was still pacing when I see something shimmer down at the end of the hall by the window. I stop pacing and look again. There's a circle of light by the window. I start walking over to get a closer look.

"Here she is!" I hear a voice say from the circle.

"Hello?" I say, coming closer to the light.

"Kyra! Can you see me?" there was no doubt about who's voice it was. It was Mo.

I get right up in front of the circle and see Mo's face. There was something like static in the Iris message, preventing me from seeing his face clearly.

"Where in Hades are you?" he asks.

"Okay, first of all, that sounded extremely perverted. Second, long story. I'll be back soon though. I promise." I say.

"Ky? Who are you talking to?" Nico asks from down the hall.

"Is Nico there too?" Mo asks.

Some of the static had cleared and I could see his worried face. I can see that he's on the Big House's porch and Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, and the others are behind him, looking just as anxious.

"Uh, yea. Listen Mo, I promise I'll be back at camp soon. Tell the others that Nico and I are safe." I say.

The static comes back with a vengeance. I could tell I was going to loose it soon. Before Mo could say anything else, I sweep my hand through the image and it fades away. I walk back down the hall and to Nico.

"Who were you talking to?" he asks, squinting open his eyes and peering up at me.

"Mo. He IMed me, wanting to know where I was." I say.

"What'd you tell him?" he asks.

"Just that we'd be back soon and that we were fine. The message was kind of hard to see so the conversation didn't last long." I say.

"Okay, well-" he was cut off by a crashing sound in the room.

Nico jumps to his feet and kicks open the door, all evidence of him being tired, gone. We run inside to see Lucas on the floor and mom kneeling over him, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom! What happened?" I ask, looking at the scene with surprise.

"Honey! Lucas he-he just collapsed." she says. She was obviously just as shocked as Nico and I were.

I drop to my knees and see if Lucas has a pulse. He did, but it wasn't very strong. I place my hands over his heart and start a healing chant. When I finish, his eyelids flutter and he opens his eyes, peering up and Nico, mom, and I.

"What-what happened?" Lucas says, sitting up, with difficulty.

"You collapsed after you kissed me. I don't know why." mom says, eyes wide.

"The power of breaking the trance probably just took a lot of energy." Nico says.

"Mom." I say, just realizing that she had recognized me.

She looks at me, as if just registering I was here, and flings her arms around me. She was holding me so tightly I almost couldn't breathe.

"Mom-I can't breathe." I choke out.

"Oh, sorry." she says, releasing me.

"Ky, do you have some nectar left?" Lucas asks.

"Oh, yea." I say, digging the bottle out of my pack.

He takes it, gratefully, and takes a large sip. He closes the bottle and hands it back to me. His cheeks were red, indication that he had drunken all he could of the nectar without bursting into flames.

"How was he able to drink that?" mom asks.

"You didn't tell her?" I ask.

"Tell me what?" mom asks, looking at me and Lucas.

Lucas sighs and tells her about his godly parentage. She sits there, in stunned silence.

"I-why didn't you ever tell me?" she asks.

"I don't know. I guess I thought you'd think I was a freak and leave me." he says, shrugging and not meeting her eyes.

"I could never think that, Lucas. I hooked up with a god, for goodness sakes." she says, rolling her eyes.

"I hate to cut this short, but are you guys gonna go back home today or what?" I ask. Nico and I really needed to get back to camp.

"I think Lucas is going to stay here with me tonight. We'll probably leave tomorrow." mom says.

"Okay. Well, Nico and I should get going. You need to call John though. He's been going out of his mind. The last time I talked to him was when we were in New York and he was freaking out because I had just told him Lucas wasn't dead." I say, getting up off my knees.

"Will do. I'll see you when you get home, Kyra." mom says, getting up as well and giving me another hug.

"Bye Lucas. See you later Mrs. Hale." Nico says, walking out the door.

I hug Lucas and then follow Nico out of the room. This was going to take a lot of explaining when we got back to camp.

**A/N:**

**I had time! I'm sooooo excited! I got Clockwork Princess today and I'm going to start reading it tonight! I'll probably need a lot of Kleenex...**

**Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? I'm still not quite sure what I think of it... There's one more surprise at the end that I think you guys will like. It makes everything make a little more sense I think...**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

We took the stairs instead of the elevator. Neither one of us really wanted another surprise. Now that mom was back to normal, I realized just how tired I was. I was still pretty drained from bringing Nico back this morning and then there was just shock after shock of well, _shocking_ news. Nico didn't look much better. I was almost afraid that he wouldn't have enough energy to take us back to camp.

"Ready?" Nico asks, taking my hand and locating a shadow.

We were in the small, wooded area right behind the Emerson again. We had gone deep enough into the trees so that no one would see us disappearing. That would definitely call for some intense therapy sessions.

"Yes. Let's go home." I say.

I smile at the thought of being in my cabin again with all my siblings. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anymore reasons to leave camp unexpectedly again this summer.

* * *

We ended up on the hill, by the giant pine tree that had the Golden Fleece on it's branches and a huge dragon wrapped around the base, guarding the Fleece. We stagger out from behind the tree and gaze down at the valley.

"Home sweet home." Nico says.

"Home sweet home." I say.

I almost felt like crying. I had just left here yesterday but it felt like it had been a lifetime since I had chased Nico through the woods, trying to stop him from leaving camp to find Lucas.

"Well, I wouldn't say that it's "sweet"." a voice says from behind us.

I whip around, tapping my sun pendant and having my bow and arrows out in two seconds. All I had wanted to do was come home without a problem. No monsters trying to kill me. Nothing. Just a peaceful homecoming. No such luck.

But what was there, or rather _who_, took me by surprise. Standing there was Drew from the Aphrodite cabin. She was wearing a white maxi dress that plunged extremely low at the chest. Her nails were painted neon pink, her long, dark brown hair was piled up on top of her head, and her face was coated in make-up. The weird thing was, she had a sword belt around her waist. This was odd because Drew pretty much refused to even _touch_ a weapon, much less _handle_ one.

"Drew? What are you doing up here?" Nico asks, lowering his sword a little.

"Waiting for you two of course!" she says this like it should have been the most obvious thing on the planet.

"How did you know we'd be here?" I ask. Something was off and I wasn't going to lower my bow and let my guard down _that_ easily.

"You told Mo earlier when he IMed you. Piper was talking to Jason by the cabin today and I overheard." she says, glancing at her perfect nails.

"I never told Mo when I'd be back. I just told him I'd be back _soon_." I say, pulling back the string on my bow, ready to release my arrow.

"Oh, give it up. She's too smart for you." an unmistakable voice says from behind the trees.

I freeze up as Callie steps out from behind the shadows, weird legs and all their glory. She saunters over to us and caresses Nico's face. He had gone ridged and he had a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"What's all the sharp weapons about? You don't _really_ need those." Callie says, sweetly.

"Stop it, Callie. I told you last month that I would kill you again. I wasn't lying. I have no pity whatsoever for you." I snarl.

"Kyra. You're always so impossible. So stubborn and hot-headed." she says, coming to stand in front of me.

I take a look at the feathers at the end of my arrow. They were black and that meant it was a forking arrow. Perfect.

"You know the arrow that killed you last time? This is another one of those. If I recall correctly, last time I told you I didn't want to see you again and if you tried to hurt my family or friends, you'd end up with one of these in your forehead." I say.

She didn't look nervous but I could tell she was. Her eyes gave it all up. There was pure terror in them. I guess she didn't really enjoy the forking arrow last time.

"I see I've gotten your attention. Now, tell me, how many other demigods, that are at this camp, are in league with you?" I ask.

"Just Drew and Daemon. If he had just done what I had _told_ him to do, he probably wouldn't have gotten his ass sent to Camp Jupiter." she says, eyeing the arrow.

"You _ordered_ him to do that to me?!" I shriek.

I glance at Nico out the corner of my eye. His knuckles had gone white because he was gripping his sword hilt so tightly. If he hadn't been fucked off when Callie first showed up here, he definitely was now.

"Don't act too surprised. I thought you knew me better by now, Ky. Just know one thing. All plans have a reason behind them." she says, then backs away from Nico and I and disappears into the trees, taking Drew with her.

**A/N:**

**SURPRISE UPDATE! What do you think Callie's reason is for torturing Kyra? And did you guess that Daemon and Drew were working with her?**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-dAngelo25**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

"I don't understand why she can't just _die_ already and burn in Tartarus! I'm so sick of her!" I rant as Nico and I make our way to the Big House.

Nico had been fuming ever since Callie spilled that she had ordered Daemon to rape me. He hadn't said a word, he just had a frightening scowl on his face.

"Kyra!" someone yells.

"What?" I ask, looking around to see who had called me.

Someone tackles me from behind and I practically fall on my face. I manage to turn around and see that it's Mo. He lets me go and then looks me up and down, checking for any injuries. When he's satisfied that I'm okay, he turns to Nico.

"Where the _hell_ have you two been?! Everyone's been worried out of their minds about you and Kyra." he explodes.

"I'll explain everything at the camp fire tonight. I just _really_ want to take a shower." I say.

I start to step past Mo but he holds out an arm and stops me. I look over at him and he looks at me. I knew that look. He wasn't going to let me go anywhere until I explained where I had gone.

I sigh in defeat and gesture to the Big House. Mo looks satisfied and turns to the porch steps. I look at Nico and shrug then follow Mo.

* * *

"You can do _what_?" Mo asks, incredulous.

I had just gotten to the part where I brought Nico back to life. Mo wasn't the only one inside the Big House listening to the events of yesterday and this morning. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Chiron, and Will were there as well.

"I'm pretty sure you heard me, Mo. Hypnos says it's just something some Apollo kids are born with… Well, actually, he said that he had only seen one other Apollo child have this power and it was thousands of years ago." I say, sheepishly.

"I think I remember that child." Chiron says, absentmindedly.

"What happened after that?" Percy says, plopping down on the couch next to Nico with a piece of pizza i one hand and ruffling Nico's hair with the other. Nico was not pleased.

I continue the story, going on about how I passed out after Hypnos had told me Lucas wasn't actually dead and so on. I finally ended it where Nico and I were on Half-Blood Hill and Callie came out.

"If I ever get my hands on her…" Will says, looking murderous.

"I don't know what she has planned yet but by the way she left, I'd say she has much more up her sleeve." I say, propping my chin in my hand.

"We're here for you Kyra." Annabeth says.

Everybody nods in agreement and Nico takes my hand.

"Just one thing." Chiron says, "No more sneaking out of camp."

I grin and say, "I can't make any promises but I'll try Chiron."

I look at the clock on the wall and see it's 5:30. I stand up and stretch before looking at everyone.

"Well, if I'm done here, I would like to go freshen up and have a nap before dinner." I say.

Nico stands up as well and says, "Me too. I feel like I bathed in Minotaur sweat on a hot day."

**A/N:**

**Really short chapter but that's all I'm uploading for the night! Saturday I'll post the last chapter then start on the next part of this series. SO. EXCITED!**

**How has everybody's week been going? Mine has been alright. My grandmother is here till this Tuesday then we're meeting with my uncle and he's going to take her back home. I really wish the weather would decide what it wants to do. It was really warm out last weekend and now it's freezing cold! Gahh! But on the upside, those two boys weren't at my pottery class tonight so I had a peaceful, insult-free, night! :)**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

* * *

It had been a week since Nico and I had returned from our unplanned "quest". Nobody had actually mentioned that we had left camp because that would result in Nico and I being banned. My mom had called the day after we had returned and told me that she and Lucas were returning to Baltimore. I just hoped everyone would _stay_ in Baltimore this time.

There were only five days left of camp so I decided to take a stroll in the woods to my rock. As I was leaving the mess hall, Nico caught up with me and intertwined his fingers with mine. I guess he figured out where I was going and didn't want another incident like the last time I ventured into the woods by myself.

We walk for a while in silence, going deeper into the woods. It was quite peaceful outside today. There were no monsters wrecking havoc thought the trees, the birds were chirping, and the nymphs were playing, what I guess was, their version of tag.

After a while, we reach the rock. It looks just as it always does, shadowy but speckled with sunlight at the same time, the small creek trickling along. But there was something different. Instead of being deserted and untouched as it usually is, there was someone there, leaning against the rock.

I would recognize him anywhere. Same trench coat and hat. Same cane and shoes. It was Hypos. He looked as if he had been awaiting our arrival. He looks up as we come forward, still hiding his face though.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." he says.

"What do you want Hypnos?" Nico asks, his grip tightening on my hand.

"No need to get all protective, Mr. di Angelo. I just want to talk to Kyra." Hypnos says.

"And what do you want to talk to me about?" I ask, sitting down on the edge of the rock.

"There's something I didn't tell you." he says, sounding a little nervous.

"And that would be?" I ask, motioning for him to continue.

"You asked, when we last met here, why I wanted to help you." he says.

He takes a deep breath then plunges in. "The truth is, I love your mother."

"_What_?" I ask, eyes widening.

"You see, almost sixteen years ago, I met your mother. At the time, I didn't know she had also been seeing Apollo. She, what term do you use these days? Ah yes. She "hooked up" with both Apollo and I around the same time." he says.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you _and_ Apollo dated my mother?" I ask, trying to wrap my brain around this.

"Yes. I've been watching you since you were born, trying to figure out who's you were. After you came to camp, it was obvious that you were Apollo's." he says.

"But you helped me anyway." I say.

"You're not just Apollo's child. You're also Michelle's. I felt that I owed it to her to help you." he says.

"What do you mean "owed" her? What happened between you two?" I ask.

He sighs and says, "Well, when I found out she was pregnant, I was overjoyed because I thought you were mine. But, she came forward and admitted that she had also been seeing Apollo. I had been furious and cursed her so that she would never be able to conceive another child after she had you." he says, looking down.

"That's terrible." I say, appalled.

"I know. I regretted it right after I left. But there was no way to take back the curse. It's permanent." he says.

"I have a question and I don't think it has anything to do with your love affair with my mother." I say.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Why do you never show your face?" I ask.

He chuckles. "I figured you would ask that at some point."

He takes off his hat and looks at me. I was taken aback at his beauty. His eyes are the exact same shade as the sky on a cloudless day, his nose a perfect slope. He's not tan like Apollo, but very pale. Almost the same white as snow but a little darker. His hair is dark brown and gold on the tips.

"Whoa." I say.

"Dude, I'm a guy and I have a girlfriend and even _I'm_ attracted to you." Nico says, eyes wide.

Hypnos and I start laughing. I'm laughing so hard tears are rolling down my cheeks. I don't think Nico intends to be funny, but he can definitely lighten a mood when he wants to.

"Okay. Back to business." Hypnos says, straightening up.

"Callie is certainly not done with you, Kyra. I don't know what she has planned but I'd be prepared for the worst. Stay on guard while you're back in Baltimore." he says.

"I will. Trust me, I've seen what she can do. I'm not taking this lightly and if things get really bad, I'll come back to camp." I say.

"Good. Now, I must get going. I'll be in touch, Kyra." he says, putting his hat back on and disappearing into the bushes.

I hop off of the rock and look at Nico. I take his hand and we start walking back towards camp. I had no clue what Callie was planning next or even _why_ she was doing all this, but I was going to find out. And when she tries to hurt my family, and she will, I'll be right there to protect them, no matter what.

**A/N:**

**Annnnd done! What did you guys think about the last surprise at the ending? And if anyone was wondering (probably not) I modeled Hypnos after Tre Cool of Green Day. His eyes are so blue that it just amazes me. *sigh* He's so pretty it almost hurts to look at him... Lol!**

**Sorry it took so long to update today. After pottery today I went out to lunch with my mom, grandmother, and my friend then we went to the mall and shopped for a while. Then in about 45 minutes I'm going over to my brother and sister-in-law's house for dinner.**

**I'll go ahead and post the first chapter of the next story. I have to warn to you guys though, it's a little different than the past three stories... Okay. A ****_lot_**** different.**

**XOXO,**

**Mrs-diAngelo25**


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